Fragments
by monotony
Summary: Alice doesn't believe in soul mates, will a chance encounter with a certain redhead change her mind? No it won't, at least not right away.  This is completely AU, no zombies whatsoever.
1. It's My Life

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Resident Evil.**

**AN:** Hello everyone, congratulations! You've stumbled upon my not so little story. Here are a few things you should know before reading:

1) This story is completely AU, there will not be any zombies found here, but there also will not be any original characters either. I have tried to use as many characters from the films as possible.

2) This is a femslash, so if that is not your thing I thank you for your time but you may leave now.

3) Alice and Claire do not get together right away, but this will not be an angst ridden story, if that makes sense.

4) I have no idea yet about how long this story will end up being, but it will be fairly lengthy!

5) Reviews are welcomed, so let me know what you think!

**AN2:** For reference, Alice's look in this story is circa Resident Evil Apocalypse.

**AN3:** I have affectionately named each chapter after an amazing song (amazing in my opinion). The song may or may not have anything to do with the chapter itself, I've really only done it for my own amusement but feel free to check out the songs if you like and let me know how awful my taste in music is! Anyway, I'll shut up now and let you enjoy (or not) the first offering of my story.

**Summary:** Alice doesn't believe in soul mates, will a chance encounter with a certain redhead change her mind? No it won't, at least not right away.

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><p>The sun was just beginning to rise over the distant horizon of Racoon City on a peaceful Thursday morning. The downtown streets were empty with the exception of a lone pickup truck. The old, beat up, faded green vehicle had two occupants; a dark haired man slouched over in the passenger seat fast asleep against the window and a woman with dirty blonde hair sitting behind the wheel. The woman, Alice Abernathy looked across to her sleeping companion and with a wicked grin, purposely swerved the truck on the empty street. Startling awake Carlos Olivera groaned, rubbing his eyes before looking around.<p>

"What did you do that for?" He glared at Alice. "I agreed to get up unrealistically early to help you out and this is the thanks I get?"

Alice pretended to muse over this information for a moment. "I don't remember you agreeing to do anything. As I recall, I asked you very nicely to help me out this morning and when you refused I had to all but drag your ass out of bed." She said sarcastically.

"Same thing." Carlos waved off, settling back into his seat. "Don't wake me again until we get there."

Alice smirked and taking a sharp left turn which almost flung Carlos from his seat, entered a parking lot and pulled into the nearest spot. "We're here." She dead panned then opened her door, jumping out of the truck.

Alice and Carlos had been best friends since childhood. For as long as either of them could remember they had been pretty much inseparable. They had been next door neighbours raised in the suburbs outside the city and had met through a summer play date arranged by their parents when they were three. Their friendship had been instantaneous when the two discovered they shared a love for superheros. And even though to this day they still had arguments over which super hero was superior, with Alice arguing in favour of Spiderman and Carlos more partial to Batman; their friendship never wavered. Alice spent almost everyday at the Olivera household, and even though she and Carlos weren't biologically related they often told people they were brother and sister. It wasn't until they were eight years old that everything changed, everything but their friendship.

The pair had walked home from school together like every other day but knew right away that something was wrong when they were outside Alice's house and the front door was wide open. Normally Alice's mother was home everyday, usually passed out on the couch, surrounded by empty bottles of alcohol. Carlos was the only one she ever told about what went on behind closed doors and the boy did his best to keep her out of the house as much as possible. Because they lived in the suburbs the Abernathy's looked to be the picture perfect family. Mr. Abernathy had been a real estate broker while Alice's mother stayed at home. And while her father often stayed away from drinking his addiction was to the racetrack, and he often came home late either ecstatic or in a furious rage depending on how much he won or lost and over the years Alice had been forced to come up with some very creative excuses to explain the bruises.

On that fateful day Alice had told Carlos to wait outside, but sensing something was wrong he held her hand and followed Alice inside. Upon entering the house Alice found everything in disarray. A lot of things were missing and everything else seemed to be scattered across the floor. The only room left untouched was her bedroom. It was one of only a handful of times that Carlos ever saw Alice cry. The boy had then picked up his sobbing best friend and ran out of the house, across the front lawn, yelling for his mother the whole way. He set Alice down on his front porch and disappeared into his house to get help.

Mrs. Olivera called the police and late that night she had told Alice what had happened. Alice's parents had skipped town when her father had piled up too many debts that they couldn't pay. She said they had left Alice a note but the girl had refused to read it. It hadn't been a hard decision for the Oliveras to let Alice stay with them, she spent most of her days at their house anyway and when the state had been unable to track down any relatives that could take her in Carlos' parents were able to legally adopt her.

Over the next few months Alice had watched from a window as an elderly couple had purchased and moved into the house she had once called home. It had been unbelievably hard on the blonde to live right next door to her former residence, but it had allowed her to retain some sense of normalcy in her life; she'd been able to stay at the same school and she and Carlos were still inseparable, but she never heard from her parents again. And though Carlos had made numerous attempts over the years, she never once spoke about it. Instead she channelled her emotions into art. Painting and drawing had allowed her to express herself when words could not.

And it was her artwork that was the cause of the pair being awake at the crack of dawn. Alice was showing some pieces at the Racoon City Art Gallery for their show dedicated to local artists that would be happening that night. She waited patiently for Carlos to join her outside the truck, grumbling to himself the entire time.

"Remind me again why we had to get up so early to do this?" Carlos asked through a loud yawn.

"The gallery wants all the art set up by noon, and you have to be at work by ten. So this was the only time." She explained. "Honestly, I don't know what you're complaining about. I didn't even go to bed last night. So if anyone should be complaining it should be the one of us who hasn't slept yet."

Carlos waved the comment off. "You're use to it. It was your choice to take that job working overnight shifts."

"Exactly, which is why I'm not complaining, so quit your whining and come help me with this stuff."

Carlos sighed, but nevertheless joined Alice behind the truck and watched her remove the tarp covering her artwork. "You so owe me for this." He stated.

Alice grabbed a canvas from the vehicle, handed it to Carlos and pushed him toward the art gallery's entrance. "I'll buy you breakfast when we're finished." She promised before grabbing another painting and following him inside.

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><p>"That wasn't so bad was it?" Alice observed as she and Carlos left the gallery almost two hours later. She yawned and stretched her arms above her head. The combination of working all night and the early morning activity finally catching up to her.<p>

"I guess not." He replied, watching her stifle another yawn. "Do you want me to drive home?"

"You can drive, but let's go get something to eat. I promised you breakfast when we were done and I'm starving."

"You sure?" Alice nodded and tossed Carlos her keys. He caught them and climbed into the driver's seat. "Where do you want to go?"

Alice looked at her best friend in disbelief. "Carlos," she sighed; "every time we go out you ask me where I want to go."

"Yeah?" He said slowly, not understanding where this was going.

"And what do I always say?"

He brought his hands up to make air quotes as he spoke. "'I don't care.'" He recited.

"Exactly. So why do you continue to ask me?"

He thought it over as he started the truck and pulled out of the gallery car park. "I don't know, maybe I think one day you'll change your mind and actually have an opinion."

Alice scoffed. "I have lots of opinions, I just couldn't give a fuck where we eat or what movie we see, or anything like that. Those things just don't matter to me."

Carlos smiled. "That's one of the things I love about you Alice, you never change." He reached over to ruffle her already dishevelled hair but Alice ducked and smacked his hand away. He was laughing but stopped immediately when his eyes caught sight of something outside. "Woah!" He said excitedly, quickly putting his foot on the brake pedal; the sudden halt causing Alice to lurch forward in her seat.

"Dude, what the fuck?" She hissed.

But Carlos didn't reply, his eyes focussed on the sidewalk behind Alice's head. His gaze tracked something outside and Carlos turned around in his seat to follow the movement through the back windshield. With a crooked smile that Alice didn't like at all he continued to stare.

Alice waved a hand in front of his face. "Earth to Carlos." Nothing. "Olivera!" She punched him in the arm. The movement in combination with the car behind them honking in impatience was enough to break Carlos from his staring. Wiping the dreamy look off his face he gave Alice a mischievous smile.

"I know where we're eating." He said excitedly as he forced the truck into an illegal u-turn, ignoring the horns of the other cars behind him. And driving much faster than necessary he took a hard left into a small parking lot.

Alice looked out the window to see where they were. The building was in the shape of a flying saucer which was unusual in itself, but the restaurant stuck out even further by its use of shiny red and white plastic tile covering the outside. "Umbrella Co. Dinning: Our Business is Food Itself." She read off the sign. "Are you shitting me Carlos? That doesn't even make sense!"

"I thought you didn't 'give a fuck' where we ate?" He teased playfully.

"I don't. But I doubt you pulled that stunt back there in _my_ truck because you were dying to try the food here." Alice narrowed her eyes at him and Carlos shifted uncomfortably under her gaze.

"I uh, there was this girl I saw walk in here." He admitted.

"And what? You decided to stalk her? You want us to spy on her while she's eating french toast or something?"

"She's really hot. Please Alice?" He begged with puppy dog eyes.

This wasn't the first time Alice had been roped in by Carlos to do something crazy to meet a girl. Over the many years of their friendship he had forced her to tag along to pep rallies, house parties, bars, and clubs. One time in their teens they had even spent two hours in a record store until Carlos had plucked up enough courage to ask out the girl behind the counter. Every time Carlos would insist that these crazy schemes were in the name of love and every time Alice swore if that was love then she wanted nothing to do with it.

The blonde rolled her eyes at her friend but exited the truck anyway. "Fine," she said when he joined her. "But you're paying."

"Deal." He agreed quickly, clapping her on the back and pushing her towards the entrance just as she had done earlier that morning.

Alice went in first, Carlos right behind her. "So, where is this mystery woman?" She asked, glancing around but not observing anyone who could have possibly caused Carlos to stop in the middle of the street. There were only about ten other patrons in the room, scattered among various tables.

Carlos was also looking around the diner frantically. "I don't see her."

Alice shrugged. "Maybe she's in the bathroom." She picked up a newspaper from the stack by the door. "Let's go sit down, the sooner I get something to eat the less cranky I'll be about this stalking thing."

Carlos followed obediently through the semi vacant restaurant and took the seat opposite in a booth next to a window. But even seated he remained agitated, his head swivelling constantly trying to catch a glimpse of his mystery woman.

"Dude, chill out." Alice scolded. "You need to calm down, you look like you're about to rob the place or something."

"What should I say to her?"

"Are you going to actually talk to her? I thought we were just here to eat and spy on her." Sarcasm dripped off every word and Carlos glared across the table in response. "Just be honest and be yourself. But if I were you I wouldn't mention the whole 'I spotted you on the street and followed you in here' thing, women tend to find stalking creepy." Then Alice opened her newspaper and disappeared behind it.

Carlos looked a little guilty. "Sorry, to do this to you again. I know you don't like being my wingman...er wing person?" He shook his head in confusion. "It's just, don't you think we're getting to that age where we need to start thinking about settling down?"

"We're only 24 years old Carlos." Alice replied from behind the paper, sounding almost bored. And she was, Carlos had brought this conversation up every few months over the last year. Normally she would be a bit more sympathetic, but lately all Carlos focussed on when he met a girl was whether or not she could possibly be his future wife.

It was one of the biggest differences between the two friends. Carlos was a hopeless romantic, constantly on the search to find 'the one.' Alice often teased him about it. She didn't think there was such a thing as a soul mate and she was certain there was no way Carlos would ever find 'the one' considering what high standards he held when it came to women. He seemed to think that his soulmate would be perfect; flawless beauty, intelligent, driven, and so on. Carlos had always been the more sentimental of the two of them, but even Alice thought his search for perfection was completely ridiculous.

Carlos' hand came over the top of the newspaper, pulling it down until it rested on the table. "I know this isn't your thing and it's not that I don't like all the time we spend together..."

Alice held up a hand to stop him from speaking further. "I'm gonna stop you right there before you get all weepy on me." She said. "Listen, I'm all about you finding someone who makes you happy, I'm just a little sceptical about the whole love at first sight thing." She gestured around the restaurant who's decor and colour scheme matched its outsides. "I mean, who do you think is going to find their soulmate in the tackiest diner in Racoon City?"

At that moment a waitress came up to their booth. "Welcome to Umbrella Co. Dining, what can I get you this morning?" She passed the pair a couple of menus.

Alice's head swivelled over to look at the waitress and found a woman around their age with long red hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. The name tag on her shirt read 'Claire' and she waited patiently for one of them to speak.

"I'll just have coffee, black. And whatever you have that's been deep fried." Alice answered, passing back the menu she hadn't even looked at.

The waitress nodded with a good-natured smile at the vague request and turned her attention to Carlos. "What about you? What can I get you?"

"Uh, I'll have the same, thanks." He spluttered, staring up at her with wide eyes.

She looked momentarily uncomfortable at his gaze and backed away from the booth. "Sure, I'll be back in a minute." And she rushed off to the kitchen.

Carlos face palmed. "Idiot." He muttered to himself. He glanced across the table at Alice but she had disappeared behind the paper again after relaying her order.

"So, any sign of your mystery girl?" Alice asked when Carlos hadn't immediately fallen back into the conversation from before their interruption.

"It's the waitress." He mumbled, face still buried in his hands.

She lowered the paper enough to make eye contact with Carlos. "The waitress?" He nodded. "Our waitress? Waitress-who-was-just-here waitress?"

"Yes."

Alice sighed and folded up the newspaper, setting it off to the side. "Forget it. She's not your type."

"What?"

"She's not going to go out with you, so you might as well save yourself some embarrassment and let this one go."

"What makes you so sure? You saw her for all of two seconds."

"Carlos," Alice pleaded. "Am I ever wrong about these things?"

"There's always a first for everything." He said gazing off at the redhead who was cleaning up a table across the room.

Alice snapped her fingers in front of him, bring his attention back to their own booth. "Not this time I'm afraid. And isn't this why you drag me along?"

"Fine. But just so you know, it wasn't like I was going to sit here and eat and then ask her out. That would just be creepy."

"Not any creepier than following a woman you saw out on the street into a diner." Alice was quick to retort. "Besides I don't understand why you waste your time chasing girls you don't even know. Isn't there someone at your office that you like enough to go out with?"

"You know there isn't. The only women who work there are my mother's age."

"What about your boss's secretary, what's her name again?"

"Nancy."

"Right, what about her, she's young and hot."

"Yeah, she's also the office slut."

"Well maybe what you need to do is stop looking. Doesn't the saying go that love comes when you least expect it?" She frowned in uncertainty, "or something along those lines." She waved it off. "Anyway, if you're suppose to find your 'soulmate'" she winced at the word "don't you think it's up to the universe to provide? Or at least give you some kind of sign?" She didn't believe a word that was coming out of her own mouth, but it seemed to be working on Carlos anyway.

Carlos considered her words carefully. "Maybe." He looked around the restaurant and chuckled to himself. "You're probably right. Sometimes I get carried away." He relaxed, leaning back into the bright red leather covering the seat. "I should be more like you, just let the women come to me."

Alice scoffed. "Good luck with that. What I have is a gift, often imitated but never mimicked." Then she looked more serious. "I learned a long time ago there isn't any point in worrying about things you can't control. If there is such a thing as a soulmate," she rolled her eyes "you'll meet her when you're suppose to and not before."

Carlos chuckled. "Damn, and I thought I was the smart one of the two of us."

Alice joined him in laughter until the redheaded waitress came back to their table.

"Here you go, deep fried deliciousness." She said, placing the plates in front of them as well as two cups of coffee. "Can I get you anything else?"

"No, I think we're good here. Thanks a lot." Alice replied offering a polite smile which was returned before the redhead walked away again.

The pair ate in relative silence, it was still rather early in the day and despite the diner's strong coffee Alice's lack of sleep was beginning to catch up with her. However, Alice wasn't so out of it that she didn't notice her friend sneaking glances at the redhead every time she passed their table.

Pushing the empty plate off to the side Alice yawned, sitting sat back in the booth as she looked over at Carlos. "I have no idea what we just ate but it was delicious." She commented with a satisfied sigh.

Carlos smirked. "So you forgive me for dragging you in here?"

"With food this good I'll forgive the restaurant for having such a strange theme." She looked around. "I mean, what's up with all the umbrellas?"

"I'm afraid that's one of the great mysteries of life." A voice answered from behind the blonde and a second later the redhead came into view. "I've asked that question myself, many times but I don't think anyone knows why the owner is so obsessed with umbrellas."

"You've never asked him?" Carlos inquired, eager to include himself into the conversation.

"I've never met him, he lives in another state and has someone else run the business." She picked up their empty plates. "Was everything to your liking?"

Carlos looked at her dreamily. "Yes, everything was perfect."

The redhead eyed him uncomfortably again. "Uh, good. Do you want something else or just the bill?"

"Just the bill please." Alice answered before Carlos could order everything on the menu to keep them there longer. When the redhead was out of sight Alice reached across the table to smack Carlos upside the head. "Stop it. She can totally tell when you're leering at her and it's creeping the both of us out!"

"Sorry. You can go wait in the truck while I take care of the check if you want." He offered but Alice immediately was shaking her head.

"No, I think you scared her enough for one day. I'll take care of this, you can pay next time." Carlos looked like he was about to object but Alice glared sternly, cutting off his retort. "You can wait outside, I'll be just a minute." She stood, pulled Carlos from his side of the table and ushered him towards the door.

When he was gone Alice walked over to the counter. Claire stood behind the register, friendly smile back in place. "Does your boyfriend always make you pay?" She teased as Alice handed over some money.

The blonde coughed loudly as she was both amused and horrified at the redhead's assumption. "Sorry, I'm trying not to vomit. First of all, that's disgusting seeing as he's my brother. And second, I would never be with someone who could sit across a table from me and stare dreamily at someone else."

"Replace dreamy with creepy and I'll agree."

"Well I apologize on his behalf if he made you uncomfortable."

"It's alright, no harm done. And in any case we could use his return business." She gestured around the still semi vacant restaurant.

"We will definitely be back, the food was amazing. What did you give us anyway?"

"Sausage wrapped in bacon deep fried in pancake batter."

"Hmm, well if I die of a heart attack on the way home at least I'll know why." Alice covered her mouth to stifle another yawn and checked the redhead's name tag again before backing away from the counter. "Thanks for everything. You have a nice day Claire."

Claire's smile was the last thing Alice saw as she walked out the restaurant, eagerly looking forward to going home for some sleep before the art show that night.


	2. Speed of Life

**Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.**

**A/N: **Ok guys here is the next chapter, the title is brought to you by David Bowie. (Many of the chapters will probably end up being named after David Bowie songs, because he is just that awesome!)

**A/N2: **I can't promise this type of regular update all the time but someone demanded more and I felt obliged to deliver, so here it is and a very long update it is too. Enjoy, and review if you'd like.

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><p>An exhausted Claire Redfield dragged herself up the third flight of stairs in her apartment building. She had taken out her ponytail the moment she was free of the restaurant and the long red locks now fell loose down past her shoulders. Heaving a heavy sigh of relief at the glimpse of her apartment door at the end of the hallway Claire was happy to see the end of another day and was ready to fall into bed. As she retrieved her keys from the pocket of her well worn jacket she groaned at hearing loud music playing in the apartment above. It didn't seem to matter how many times she complained to the super, the people upstairs always found new ways to annoy her.<p>

Opening the door and stepping inside, Claire shook off her jacket and hung it on the hook next to the door. Running a hand through her hair she observed the room before her. Her apartment was small yet practical and she loved coming home to it every night after long days at the diner. She stood in the reasonably sized area that had been simultaneously designated kitchen, dinning room, and living room. Upon glancing around it immediately became apparent that something was not right. That morning she had left the apartment in complete disarray; dishes had littered virtually every surface of the kitchen while clothing and other assorted items had been collecting in the living room over the past week. But currently there was no signs of the aforementioned mess and Claire knew there could only be one person responsible.

"K-Mart!" She called out and only had to wait a moment before a door attached to the living room opened and out popped the blonde head of her little sister.

K-Mart was had just turned fifteen and was almost the polar opposite of her older sister. Where Claire was reserved and practical, K-Mart was loud and unpredictable. The young blonde often said the reason they got along so well was because they were so different and Claire had no reason to disagree. The two sisters had lived alone together for the past three years, ever since their parents had been killed in a car accident and the barely twenty-one year redhead had been forced to take on the responsibility as her sister's full time guardian. It had been tough at first, but the pair found a way to make things work. Their older brother Chris was in the military and was currently serving a tour of duty overseas and they were lucky to see him a couple of times a year. So on most days it was just the two of them but that never bothered the redhead; she wouldn't trade K-Mart for anything in the world, even if the kid could occasionally be a pain in the ass.

K-Mart peered tentatively out from her bedroom and upon seeing Claire joined the redhead in the living room. "Hey Claire, how was work?"

"The same." Claire answered dismissively then gestured around the apartment. "You cleaned." She observed.

"Yes?"

"Why?"

"It was dirty. Do I need another reason?" Claire merely stared at the blonde teenager in response and it wasn't long before K-Mart broke all pretenses. "Ok, fine! Just promise you won't be mad."

"Mad about what?" Claire's voice began rising.

K-Mart motioned for her sister to stay put as she ducked back into her bedroom, reappearing a moment later with a piece of paper in hand. "Before you look at it, I just want you to know that I'm really trying to do my best." Then she handed over the paper to the redhead.

Claire looked down at the sheet in hand, it was K-Mart's midterm report card. Her eyes quickly scanned over the numbers and she glanced up at the blonde before reading the comments left by the teachers. When she finished Claire dropped the sheet down on the coffee table and began to pace.

"You're failing." Claire began, trying to keep her voice calm. If there was one important thing Claire had learned the last three years it was that yelling never solved anything and usually made the blonde cry.

K-Mart was quick to defend herself. "I'm only failing history, it's not that big of a deal. There's still enough time left in the year for me to pass."

"How are you going to do that? I can't afford to hire you a tutor." Claire frowned, it was her responsibility to help K-Mart and try and fix this mess, but she was at a loss on what to do. She suddenly felt twice as exhausted than when she'd come in the door and rubbed small circles around her temples as she tried to figure things out.

"I don't know Claire but I've really been trying, honest."

Claire sighed, dropped her hands, and stopped pacing. "I know you have." Every night she made sure the teen finished all her homework and helped the blonde study for tests. However it didn't come as a complete surprise to hear K-Mart was failing, history had always been her weakest subject; and no matter how many times Claire tried to help her, she just couldn't explain things in a way that K-Mart could remember. Picking up the report card again she waved it in front of her younger sibling. "This is why you cleaned? You were afraid I would be upset?"

"Mostly." The blonde admitted, not looking her sister in the eye.

"Well what's the other reason?" Claire was almost afraid to ask, she didn't think she could take anymore bad news in one night.

"I was hoping we could go somewhere tonight. It's for school." The teen added quickly, knowing the redhead was immediately going to say no.

"Explain."

K-Mart pulled a flyer out of the back pocket of her blue jeans. "My art teacher assigned an extra credit project..."

"Your art teacher, he's the one you think is creepy right?" Claire interjected, K-Mart talked a lot and it was sometimes hard to keep up on everything she said about her friends and teachers.

The blonde nodded. "Yeah. Anyway, there's an exhibit tonight of work by local artists. He wants us to pick one of the pieces and write about it."

"Write what?"

"How it makes us feel, what we think the piece is trying to convey, stuff like that." She passed Claire the flyer and waited patiently for an answer. "He's showing a bunch of his paintings in the exhibit and I think the project is just an excuse to have more people see it, but this extra credit could really help with bumping up my average."

Claire's eyes moved back and forth between the two pieces of paper, flyer in one hand and report card in the other. Her exhausted body was telling her to stay home, but in reality it was an easy decision. If K-Mart was finally taking some academic initiative there was no way Claire was going to stand in the way. "Ok, we'll go to the art show, just give me an hour to get ready."

K-Mart nodded happily, bouncing on her heels with excitement. "Thanks Claire!" And with that she disappeared back into her bedroom.

A small smile worked across Claire's face at the blonde's enthusiasm and she found it a little easier to pick up her feet and head towards the bathroom door, looking forward to the long hot shower that waited on the other side.

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><p>Alice was bored out of her mind. She stood at the back of the large, open room filled with various styles of art and the odd assortment of people who had shown up to view it. She sighed at how these art shows were always the same. A few times a year when the gallery held these exhibits Alice would submit a few pieces in the hopes of selling them to make a few extra bucks. Looking around she noticed that several works from other artists were the same pieces they had used for the previous show, with the exception of a man named Albert Wesker whose art seemed to be getting more sadistic and graphic with each exhibit. A shiver ran down her spine at seeing him standing proudly in front of his series of paintings that depicted what appeared to be dogs with their heads split in half and tentacles coming out of their mouths. She had avoided going anywhere near him for most of the night, knowing if she got stuck in a conversation with him she could count on discovering, in sordid detail, what had inspired him to paint such a thing and that was something she could gladly live without.<p>

"Alice." Carlos said getting her attention and handing her a glass of whatever cheap nonalcoholic knock off the gallery had supplied for the evening. "You look bored." He observed.

She shrugged. "It's just that these shows are always the same; the same artists, the same people." Then she smiled. "I shouldn't complain though, it's been a pretty good night for me. I only have one painting left unsold and Wesker over there is scaring people away with his fucked up dogs."

Carlos looked across the room, "What's his deal anyway? His stuff is always so...disturbing."

"If I knew what inspired him I don't think I would ever be able to sleep again." She answered, shuddering at the thought.

Carlos' eyes scanned the room as Alice sipped from her glass. There weren't as many people around as there had been an hour ago but the gallery was still fairly crowded. His gaze stopped at the spot where Alice's paintings were hanging on the far side of the room. "Looks like you have a new fan." He said pointing at something behind her head.

Alice followed his line of sight and saw a short, young blonde standing in front of one of her paintings looking up at it intently. It was the largest of her paintings with the rectangular canvas measuring five feet long and three feet wide. The abstract design and bright colours had been the result of one particularly enjoyable day, though Alice honestly could no longer remember what it was that had put her in such a good mood at the time she had created it. It was the one painting that hadn't been sold and coincidentally Alice's favourite of the series. "I didn't know they let children in here." She said but Carlos didn't reply.

Her best friend was already distracted with something else across the room but Alice couldn't see what had caught his attention. "Hey," he said, still staring in the opposite direction. "I have something to go do, I'll catch up with you later." And then he disappeared into the crowd leaving Alice alone again.

Alice made a mental note to find out what was so interesting later and dropped her empty glass on a nearby table as she made her way over to the small blonde who was still gazing at her painting.

She stood behind the girl for a minute before speaking. "No matter how long you stare at it, it's going to look the same."

The startled girl jumped, turning around to face Alice. "I know, but I just can't stop looking at it." She said, glancing back at it once again.

Alice took a step forward so she was standing next to the teenager in front of her painting. "You like it?"

"I love it!" The blonde replied, sounding almost in awe.

"Can I ask you why?" Alice was very curious to hear what the teen thought. Normally when she sold a painting she didn't ask the buyer why they wanted it, but she'd never seen anyone stare at her work like this kid was doing.

"I have no idea." She answered, eyebrows scrunching in concentration. "Maybe it's the colours? Or how it's the most abstract one of the series? I really don't know. I just look at it and feel this weird connection. I get this calming vibe but at the same time I feel sort of happy, you know?" She glanced at Alice and smiled embarrassingly. "I'm not making any sense, am I?"

Alice smiled reassuringly. "We're talking about art, there is no wrong answer."

The blonde nodded and turned back to the painting. "Do you know the artist?"

Alice's smirk was missed by the teen. "Yeah I do, and she's a total nightmare, believe me. She's broody and sarcastic, she hates everyone and doesn't care about anything. Trust me, you don't want to meet her."

"Oh? I never would have thought that based on the art. It's a little hard to believe that someone so... emotionally detached could paint something so beautiful." The teen looked disappointed and Alice, feeling a little guilty, was about to come clean when a voice spoke up behind them.

"Miss Redfield, I'm glad to see you decided to take up the offer of an extra credit assignment."

Both women turned around to find Albert Wesker standing behind them. Alice wondered how the young blonde could know this creep, but held out her hand with a fake friendly smile. "Hey Albert, nice to see you again. Carlos and I were talking about your paintings earlier, they're really, uh intense."

Wesker shook her hand in greeting, taking her comment as a compliment. "Yes, I really do think I've outdone myself this time." His cocky demeanor made Alice want to vomit. He turned back to the teen. "Maybe you'll want to use one of mine as the source for your report."

Alice was slowly fitting the pieces the together and realized what was going on. "You're an art teacher?"

"Yes, and I've assigned an extra credit project for my students to write a paper on a piece of art by a local artist." He smiled as if it was the most brilliant idea he'd ever heard, though Alice thought it was pretty lame.

Alice looked passed Wesker to see the teen looking across the room warily at the paintings of the tentacle-dogs with trepidation. "Well if you're her teacher I don't think she should write about one of your paintings do you? It wouldn't be very objective."

Wesker frowned while the teen looked relieved and gave Alice a grateful smile.

"I suppose you're right." He turned back to the blonde. "I gather you've had some time to look around, have you selected a piece you'd like to write about?"

She nodded and pointed to the painting the three stood before. "I like this one."

He frowned again and glared at Alice. "I see your work is popular tonight, four out of five paintings sold."

Alice smiled, happy to see him so angry. "Actually I sold this one too, a few minutes before you came over." She pulled a small placard reading 'sold' out of her pocket and stuck it on the wall next to the painting.

His eyes flashed red. "Congratulations." He spat then turned on his heels to return to his own paintings.

Still smiling, Alice returned her attention back to the teen who seemed to be stuck halfway between a scowl and smile.

"You tricked me! You're the one who painted these!"

"Guilty."

"Thanks for bailing me out just now. I did not want to write about one of his paintings, I think I'll have nightmares just from looking at them." She stuck out her hand. "I'm K-Mart by the way."

Alice didn't question the strangeness of the name and shook the offered hand as she introduced herself. "Alice Abernathy."

K-Mart gestured to the wall. "Congratulations on selling all your paintings, they're really great."

"Thanks, but that was a tangled web of lies I'm afraid." She pointed to the one K-Mart had become so enthralled with. "Technically I didn't sell that one."

"You just said that to piss off Mr. Wesker?"

"Partially, but I'd already decided before he came over that I wanted you to have it. If you want."

"Are you serious?" K-Mart asked with wide eyes and Alice nodded. "Are you sure? I can't just take it from you."

"I'm positive. This one was my favourite of the bunch and I know if I give it to you it will be appreciated."

"Thank you so much Alice. I can't wait to tell Claire!"

"Claire?" Alice asked and immediately the image of the waitress from the tacky diner she and Carlos had visited that morning came to mind.

"My older sister." K-Mart clarified as she looked around the gallery for said sibling. "She brought me here tonight but I lost track of her when I saw this across the room and had to come get a closer look." She pointed somewhere behind Alice. "That's her over there, with the red hair." She giggled. "It looks like she's about to go postal on that guy talking to her."

Alice had a sneaking suspicion of what she was going to find when she turned around and sure enough, not too far away she spotted the redhead from this morning having her ear talked off by Carlos. She almost laughed aloud at how clueless her best friend could be as he clearly could not tell that Claire was not interested in a thing he was saying. Alice grinned at the younger blonde. "Unfortunately that's my friend Carlos. I think we should go rescue your sister from him before she goes crazy."

K-Mart led the way with Alice following close behind. "Hey Claire!" the blonde greeted when they arrived next to their respective siblings.

"K-Mart! There you are, did you pick a painting? Cause we should probably go soon, it's a school night after all." She looked eager for an excuse to separate herself from Carlos and she not so subtly inched herself slowly away from him.

"Yes, I found an amazing painting." The teen spoke animatedly. "It's the best one here; the colours and contrast, and you can tell there's so much emotion put into it..."

As the teen gushed about her work Alice felt a slight burning sensation on her cheeks. This was exactly why she never asked anyone but Carlos if they liked her art, the only thing she hated more than criticism was compliments. Her gaze moved back and forth between the Redfield siblings and Alice found great amusement at seeing how confused Claire was looking at her sister, clearly not having any idea what she was talking about. Alice also glanced over at Carlos to see him still staring dreamily at the redhead who was now firmly ignoring his presence altogether. Alice discreetly kicked his leg to break him from the daydream and was rewarded by the scowl he threw in her direction. She gave him an innocent smile but found her attention drawn back to the sisters when she heard her name mentioned.

"And the best part is that Alice said I could have the painting!" K-Mart finished, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

It seemed to take Claire a moment to catch up with everything the blonde had said, then she turned to Alice. "You're the great artist K-Mart's been telling me about?"

"I think she's exaggerating a bit, but yes. I'm Alice Abernathy." The two women shook hands, both trying to ignore the slight tingles that shot up their arm upon contact. Alice quickly pulled her hand away and clapped Carlos on the back. "And I see you've had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting my friend Carlos Olivera."

"Wait," Claire looked confused. "This morning you said he was your brother."

"This morning?" K-Mart asked, also looking confused.

"He is, but it's complicated." Was all Alice offered in explanation and Carlos didn't comment at all. She turned to K-Mart, "So, the show's almost over, I'll go clear things with the curator so you can take that painting home without having to worry about picking it up later." She grabbed Carlos by the back of his collar and pulled him away from the redhead.

Carlos wiggled himself out of her grasp as they walked. "You gave away the painting?"

Alice shrugged. "The kid really liked it, and it's for a school project. Oh and get this, that creep Wesker is her art teacher."

"Gross."

"I know right? What kind of sick school board would let that man teach? Or be around children at all?" She shook her head in disbelief. "Speaking of creeps," she looked at her best friend disbelievingly. "I told you this morning not to bother with that woman, she's never going to go out with you."

"You also said that if something was meant to be the universe would provide me with a sign. Don't you think seeing her twice in one day is a sign?"

"More like a coincidence. I mean what are the odds that the waitress from this morning is the sister of the kid I give a painting to who is the student of one of my least favourite people on earth?" Alice felt a headache forming just by thinking about it.

"Those odds are too enormous to be a meaningless coincidence." Carlos argued.

"Well coincidence or not, that doesn't change the fact that Claire is never going to go out with you so cut the poor woman some slack and leave her alone."

"What makes you so certain she'll turn me down? I asked her and she said she doesn't have a boyfriend."

Alice stopped walking and laid a sympathetic hand on Carlos' shoulder, this was the part she had wanted to avoid that morning. "Exactly. Why do you think a woman that hot doesn't have a boyfriend?"

"There could be lots of reasons Alice, how could I possibly know?"

"Carlos I want you to really think about this ok? I'm pretty sure she doesn't have one because she doesn't _want _one." She spoke very slowly, making sure he heard every word but when Carlos remained clueless Alice clarified her statement. "For the same reasons I don't want a boyfriend."

His eyes widened in understanding then he frowned. "Are you sure? Because I never got that vibe from her." He looked back across the room where Claire was still talking with K-Mart. "Are you sure she's gay?"

She resented the fact that he was questioning her excellent gaydar but pushed it aside in favour of the issue at hand. "Carlos," Alice sighed. "Am I ever wrong?" He shook his head and Alice smiled, patting him gently on the arm. "Don't worry too much about it, there are plenty of straight girls out there who would love to go out with you, I'm sure of it."

Carlos still looked a little sad but slowly nodded and the pair continued to make their way through the gallery to find the curator.

* * *

><p>"Here it is, you're all set." Alice stated once she and Carlos had detached the painting from the wall and wrapped the canvas in brown paper for the teen to take home. "Do you want us to put it in your car?"<p>

Claire shook her head. "We walked here, we only live a few blocks away."

"How many is a few?" Alice questioned.

"Seven." K-Mart was the one who answered when Claire looked hesitant.

Alice and Carlos exchanged a look, a silent conversation happening between them. It was something they had perfected in their twenty-one years of friendship, knowing the other well enough to come to the same agreement without speaking a word. They both nodded at the same time and Carlos picked up the painting. "Lead the way." Alice said.

"What?" The sisters exclaimed at the same time.

Alice lightly chuckled at their confused expressions. "Well, we're not going to make you carry this thing seven blocks and unfortunately there's not enough room in my truck for us to drive you home so we'll walk you and Carlos will carry it." She explained.

"You don't have to..." Claire started to say but was interrupted by the teenager who was now sporting a massive grin.

"Great! Let's go!" K-Mart proceeded to push her sister towards the exit.

Once outside Carlos again tried to engage the redhead in conversation as they walked up the street and in annoyance Claire picked up her pace but even carrying the cumbersome canvas Carlos was able to keep up. Alice and K-Mart hung back a little, walking at a more leisurely pace.

Alice sighed at her brother's behaviour. "How much more do you think it will take before she stops being polite and tells him to back off?" She asked the younger blonde lowering her voice so they wouldn't be overheard.

K-Mart seemed to be thinking it over. "Hmm, I'm not sure. I think the better question is, why can't he take a hint?"

"I have no idea. I told him at the diner this morning to forget it and again at the gallery but he never listens. I think she's going to have to say something before he finally lets it go." K-Mart nodded. "So, what's the deal with the project? Do you really need the marks or are you one of those overachiever types?"

"I need the marks. Art is one of my better classes so I need to do as well in it as I can to help average out my marks that aren't so good."

"I see."

"It's the only reason Claire let me come tonight. She really wants me to do well and I try as hard as I can but it's just not working."

"Well what are you having trouble with?"

"History," the teen made a face "it's so boring and I can't keep the dates straight. It's just... ugh!"

Alice chuckled softly. "I get what your saying, only I disagree about the history part, my problems were always in math. History was actually my favourite, I majored in it in college."

"Why didn't you take art? You're so good at it!"

"I've never taken an art class, even in highschool I took music to count for my art credit." Alice struggled to find a way to explain it to the blonde. "I just, I don't want someone to tell me how my art should look, you know?" She smiled at the teen. "I know Wesker is a stickler for terminology and technical details with his art but for me it's never been about that. I only paint when I feel like it, I've never dreamed about using my art for a career. When I started, my art was just for me, it's the actual painting part that's therapeutic for me. I don't need to keep them to look at over and over anymore."

"I guess that makes sense." K-Mart looked to be considering Alice's words when suddenly her eyes widened in realization. "Wait! You majored in history?" When Alice nodded she became excited. "I know it's a lot to ask, but I was wondering if maybe you could do something for me?"

Alice sensed a trap. "Something like what?"

"Tutor me? Please? If I can't get my marks up soon I'm going to fail." K-Mart sounded desperate. "Do you know how embarrassing it will be if I have to take ninth grade American history in summer school or repeat it again next year?" The teen gave the older blonde puppy dog eyes and a small pout. "You wouldn't want me to go through that would you Alice?"

Alice's first reaction was to avert her gaze, she could already feel herself falling victim to the teen's begging but forced herself to shake her head. "I don't know if that's a good idea. I've never tutored someone before and it's quite possible I'd mess you up worse than before."

But K-Mart was quick to reply. "Trust me, it can't get any worse. Please Alice?"

Alice still hesitated though she was finding it hard to resist the pleading look the teen was giving her. She looked ahead to see that a rather large gap had formed between herself and K-Mart and their siblings. She noticed that every once in a while Claire looked back at them, presumably to ensure that K-Mart had not fallen out of sight. "If it's alright with your sister than I guess we could try it."

A wide grin spread across K-Mart's face and she grabbed Alice's arm and pulled her along as she ran to catch up to the redhead. "Claire!" She called and the redhead stopped to look at the blonde curiously. "Claire, I've found the solution to my academic problems!"

"Ok," Claire said patiently. "And what would the solution be?"

"Alice. She's going to tutor me until my history marks are up."

Carlos looked at Alice perplexedly. "You are?" She just shrugged in response.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea K, I'm sure Alice has better things to do with her afternoons .."

"She doesn't." Carlos interjected and smirked when Alice glared at him.

Claire gave Alice an apologetic smile. "It's not that I don't appreciate the offer but I'm not really comfortable leaving my sister alone with someone we just met."

K-Mart immediately sprung into action, pushing her sister towards Alice. "You two talk, get to know each other." She instructed before whispering to the redhead, though not quiet enough that Alice couldn't hear. "I really need this Claire, I don't want to have to take this class again." She then started ushering Carlos to begin walking again. He didn't look pleased with the new arrangement but followed the teen anyway.

Alice and Claire stood awkwardly for a moment before slowly following along as well.

"She's very assertive." Alice stated.

"That's just a nice way of saying bossy." Claire laughed.

"There's nothing wrong with knowing what you want." Alice said more to herself than to the redhead.

"Are we still talking about K-Mart?"

Alice pretended not to hear the question and opted to change the subject. "So, I just have to know, is K-Mart her real name?"

Claire laughed again. "No, but that's what we've always called her."

"Yeah, but why?"

"She was born in a Kmart." At Alice's look of disbelief Claire explained further. "I was there actually. Mom was

almost at nine months and we went to the store to get cereal or something and she started to get these really bad cramps. Someone called 911 but they didn't get there in time and the next thing I know she's giving birth to my little sister in between the Cheerios and Frosted Flakes. It was crazy."

"In that case I guess the nickname makes perfect sense."

They walked in comfortable silence for several minutes before Claire turned serious. "Listen Alice, I know K can be kind of hard to refuse when she brings out that pout but you really don't have to do all this for her, the painting is more than enough, we can figure something else out about school."

"It's not a big deal, Carlos was right about me not having anything important to do in the afternoons. I'd like to help if I can but I told K-Mart it was your decision."

Claire nodded absently and they exchanged idle chit chat for the remainder of the walk and soon joined K-Mart and Carlos in front of the Redfield's apartment building.

K-Mart looked at the pair expectantly. "So what do you think Claire? Can Alice tutor me?"

"I don't know K..." She trailed off, still not comfortable with the idea of letting a stranger into their house to spend hours with her little sister.

"What time do you get out of school K-Mart?" Alice asked, a plan forming in her mind.

"2:40."

"Ok, well I'm going to be at the diner at 3:15 so if we were to happen to run into each other, I would not be opposed to us having a discussion about various historical events. What do you think?"

"That sounds good." K-Mart beamed.

Alice nodded. "Good. Plus, that way big sis can keep an eye on us, make sure I don't murder you or something." She winked at the redhead.

Claire blushed. "It's not that I thought you would hurt her..."

Alice waved it off. "It's fine." She took the painting from Carlos and passed it to the teen. "Enjoy the painting K-Mart, and I'll see you both tomorrow." She then grabbed Carlos by the arm before he had a chance to say goodnight and the pair made their way back down the street.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Carlos hissed, looking over his shoulder to make sure Claire and K-Mart had gone inside and couldn't hear them. "What's up with you tonight?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You gave away your painting and now you've agreed to help that kid with school, those aren't things you normally do."

"When you say it like that it sounds like normally I'm a horribly selfish and uncaring person." She huffed, crossing her arms.

"I didn't mean it like that." He apologized. "I just don't get why you're doing this."

Alice shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure myself. They're nice people and K-Mart sounded desperate when she asked me for help, what was I suppose to say?"

"I don't know." He sighed. "You are doing this for the kid right?"

"Yes? What other reason would there be?"

"Helping out her little sister could give you a good in with Claire." He stated, a thoughtful expression filling his face.

But Alice just rolled her eyes. "Well that probably would be more effective then following her around. But I'll have you know I gave K-Mart the painting before I even knew she had a sister."

Carlos nodded slowly but didn't speak again.

When they got back to the gallery Alice's pick up was the only vehicle left in the lot. As she drove home she kept glancing over at Carlos who had not said a word in almost ten minutes. The silence continued the whole way home until Alice pulled into the driveway of the modest single level home they had been renting for the past two years.

Even after Alice had shut off the ignition Carlos made no effort to leave the truck. He appeared to be lost in thought and didn't notice Alice staring at him intently, waiting for him to come back to earth. After several long minutes she grew tired of waiting and jumped out of the truck, making sure to slam her door closed noisily. It had the desired effect, upon hearing the noise Carlos looked around frantically, realized they were home and hastily moved to join Alice who was almost at the front door.

"I've changed my mind." He said from behind Alice as she unlocked the door and entered the house.

She threw her keys in the dish by the door. "Changed your mind about what?"

"Claire. You were right about her not being right for me. She's not my soul mate." His tone was confident and he had that cocky look in his eyes. "She's yours."

Alice stood with her back to Carlos, frozen. She'd taken off her jacket and was halfway to hanging it up when his words reached her ears. Her immobility only lasted for a moment though, and once her coat was in place she turned around to face her brother. "Carlos I think you need to go get some sleep, you've had a long day." She joked then moved her way into the kitchen, but Carlos was hot on her heels.

"Don't you see? It makes perfect sense! Me spotting her on the street this morning, the diner, the art show, Wesker, K-Mart, the painting! Those are all signs from the universe. You were suppose to meet Claire today."

Alice was hidden behind the opened refrigerator door, she reemerged with various ingredients and moved over to the counter, kicking the fridge closed behind her. She didn't speak as she went about making a sandwich of epic proportions and Carlos grew annoyed at her silence.

"Alice, did you hear anything I just said?"

"Yes." She replied, cutting the sandwich in half and offering part of it to Carlos who declined. She shrugged and started eating.

Carlos was growing impatient. "Well? What do you think?"

Alice's eyes hardened. "You know what I think about this soul mate nonsense and you know I don't do the whole 'dating' thing. Besides, it was only less than an hour ago that _you _were hellbent on getting with her, and now what? You're passing her on to me? Thanks but no thanks."

"No Alice, I didn't mean it like that. I'm sorry, and I'm sorry I didn't listen to you before. When I was walking with the kid she told me to quit wasting my time, that Claire doesn't play for my team. You were right about her. And it got me thinking, if these aren't signs from the universe for me than they must be for you." He sighed as he dropped himself into the nearest chair at the kitchen table. "But I knew you would never see it that way, which is why I'm telling you this. I just worry about you sometimes."

Her sandwich now forgotten, Alice sat across from Carlos at the table. "What are you so worried about?"

"I don't want you to be alone forever Alice. I want you to be able to share your life with someone other than me, someone who can give you the things I can't. I know that after...last time," Alice looked away "that you don't want to get hurt again and that's why you don't date but it's been four years, it's time for you to put yourself back out there."

She stood up from the table. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. I like my life the way it is."

"That's because you don't know what you're missing out on. If not with Claire than someone else." He paused for a moment and a small smile began to work back across his face. "Though I think Claire is a good place to start. You said so yourself that she was hot, and you like the kid sister, it's like a perfect fit. Just please promise me you'll think about it. "

"I'm not promising anything Carlos." She then glanced at the clock on the wall. "I've got to go, I need to get to the hospital, my shift starts in half an hour." And without another word she left the house, climbed back into her truck and drove away.


	3. Non Populus

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Resident Evil, this is all just for fun!**

**A/N: **Okay, this next chapter is for you my wonderful readers. It's not as long as the last one but I hope you find it enjoyable, and keep on reviewing so I know if you are still liking this story.

**A/N2: **We can thank Matthew Good Band for the title of this chapter as I was listening to 'Non Populus' on repeat as I edited and posted this update.

* * *

><p>Alice stepped into Umbrella Co. Dining at three fifteen sharp. She hadn't seen nor spoken to Carlos since last night, having gone straight to bed after getting home from work and after their conversation last night she had almost reconsidered showing up to meet K-Mart today. Carlos could not possibly be serious about this signs-from-the-universe nonsense could he? He knew perfectly well where she stood on the whole relationship idea and she was getting a little tired of her best friend shoving his romantic ideals down her throat. If she just stayed home she could avoid anymore coincidences that could be misconstrued as 'signs'. But at the very thought she could almost picture K-Mart's disappointed face and she imagined the redhead would probably be nothing short of furious if she didn't show after getting the teen's hopes up. So it was only after losing her own inner debate that Alice had dragged herself out of bed and left the house before she could change her mind.<p>

Looking around the restaurant Alice could see that it was even less busy than the day before, but she figured that probably was due to the time of day. In any case, K-Mart was easy to spot sitting in a booth at the far side and the teen waved excitedly upon spotting Alice. She made her way across the room and smoothly slid into the leather seat opposite the younger blonde.

"Hey Alice!" K-Mart greeted brightly. "Thanks again for helping me out with this, it means a lot to Claire and I."

"It's not a problem, really."

"I uh, I probably should mention this before we start, in case you decide to leave, and I wouldn't blame you." The teen rambled as she fidgeted with the salt shaker on the table.

"K, spit it out." Alice said with an encouraging smile.

"I can't pay you." K-Mart blurted. "For tutoring me, I can't pay you."

"Oh." Alice was a little embarrassed at the awkward turn in the conversation. "I hadn't honestly even thought about it." She admitted. "I mean, that's not why I agreed to do this. I don't want your money K-Mart so don't worry about it, ok?"

K-Mart wasn't convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Positive."

The teen immediately perked up. "Thank you Alice, you've given me so much already with that painting. I promise I'll find a way to make this up to you."

"Let's just see how good I am at tutoring before we worry about that."

K-Mart grinned and the two got to work, completely unaware of the smiling redhead watching from behind the counter.

* * *

><p>"Is it making any sense now?" Alice asked patiently as the teen stared at the textbook before her.<p>

"So Francis Bacon took the land from the natives because the government wouldn't?"

Alice nodded encouragingly. "Right, but why is it important?"

K-Mart seemed to think long and hard before answering. "Because of the tensions between the rich and poor colonists?"

"Is that all?"

"And the race relations between the whites and the natives?"

"Exactly. K-Mart as long as you can remember Bacon's Rebellion you'll be able to trace all kinds of events in American history through those two tensions. But don't worry, we'll get to that later."

"How's it going over here?" Claire asked, appearing next to the table and after a moment she slid into the booth next to Alice. "Is K-Mart a good student or are we writing her off as a lost cause?"

"Hey!" The teen huffed indignantly. "I'm doing well, right Alice?"

Alice merely nodded in response.

Claire leaned across the table to ruffle K-Mart's hair. "Well that's a relief." The teen scowled as she attempted to fix her hair. "I think you guys could use a break. Do you want anything to eat?"

K-Mart perked right up again. "Yes please! I'll have–"

"Cheeseburger, extra cheese, extra pickles, no ketchup, and a chocolate milkshake." Claire recited automatically and K-Mart nodded. Then the redhead turned to the older blonde. "Alice?"

"I'll have the same." She replied, and watched as Claire stood from the table and walked towards the kitchen.

"So," K-Mart began, discreetly sliding her books off to the side and watching the older woman intently. "Do you have a boyfriend Alice?"

"No."

"A girlfriend?"

Alice quirked an eyebrow at the teen. "No, not for a long time."

K-Mart appeared to find this information very interesting and placing both elbows on the table she folded her hands and rested her chin on them as she stared at Alice. "So you currently are not seeing anyone in a romantic manner."

"Correct." She answered, trying to figure out where this line of questioning was going.

"And do you by any chance find my sister attractive?"

"Excuse me?" Alice had not been expecting the teen to ask her that and her eyes slightly widened in surprise.

"Do you find Claire attractive?" The blonde spoke slower, emphasizing each word.

Alice was growing increasingly uncomfortable but could tell K-Mart wasn't going to let this go without an answer. "Sure." She did her best to shrug it off but K-Mart seemed to be becoming more excited the longer the conversation went on and Alice didn't like it one bit. "Is there a reason you're asking me this?"

"Well, I know we just met, but I can already tell that you're awesome. And I think that if you're interested, you and Claire could be really cute together." K-Mart spoke as if she'd given the idea a lot of thought and Alice found it unnerving.

"Did Carlos put you up to this?" Alice looked around, almost expecting to see her friend and noticed the diner was completely empty. Quickly checking the clock on the wall she discovered it was almost seven thirty. Glancing back to the girl across from her she saw the blonde was now staring at her in confusion.

"No, Carlos didn't put me up to this. What are you talking about?"

"Carlos had this crazy idea last night. He seemed to think Claire and I are soul mates or something ridiculous like that, just because of a few coincidences."

K-Mart now looked intrigued. "What kind of coincidences?"

Alice sighed, running a hand through her hair, she really did not want to be having this conversation for the second time in less than twenty four hours. "He just thinks it's a sign from the universe that Claire was at the art show last night after being our waitress yesterday morning, and that I give a painting to you only to find out you're her little sister."

"And he came up with this theory after you agreed to tutor me?" Alice nodded and K-Mart leaned back into her seat, her hand fidgeting along the edge of the table as she sat thinking. After a few minutes of silence the teen locked eyes with Alice and spoke. "I think Carlos is right." Alice looked at her in complete disbelief. "Just hear me out! I don't know if he's right about the soul mate thing but it has to be more than coincidence that you keep running into Claire. Meeting her here, and then the art show, and now me with the tutoring. You might as well face it Alice, the universe is trying to tell you something."

Alice scoffed. "Well I think that's an awful lot of time and energy for the universe to waste on me." The teen seemed to deflate before her eyes and Alice felt a little guilty at laughing off her theory. "Listen K, I'm not the kind of person you want dating your sister, trust me. Besides, even if the universe is trying to push us together, don't you think Claire should have some say in this?"

K-Mart seemed to accept this but was not ready to throw in the towel yet. "Well, I can easily find out if she likes you if you want."

Alice face palmed. "That's not what I meant." She mumbled but K-Mart was no longer listening to her.

"Claire doesn't really have a 'type' as far as I know. And whenever I bring up the subject she always says she's too busy to date."

"Maybe she is?" Alice was trying to end the conversation knowing the redhead would be back at any moment with their food.

K-Mart waved off the comment. "That's just an excuse she uses to avoid it. In fact, it makes this whole thing make even more sense!" The teen looked even more excited now. "Don't you see Alice? It's not just the universe pushing you towards Claire, it's also using you as an offering to my sister. She thinks she doesn't have time to date, but she keeps seeing you. It's almost perfect."

"Almost perfect?" Alice couldn't resist asking.

"Well it would probably work better if you would accept that this is suppose to happen." K-Mart stated as if it were obvious.

Alice was still not convinced. "I'm still leaning towards coincidence, so for now why don't we just wait and see where 'the universe' takes us, ok?"

"Fine." K-Mart sighed. "I'm not going to drop it but I am going to leave it up to the universe to prove you wrong, and at the rate you're getting these signs it should be easy."

Alice was about to object but it was at that moment the redhead returned to their table.

"What should be easy?" Claire asked as she set down their plates.

"My history test next week, with Alice tutoring me I'm sure to ace it." The blonde winked across the table and Alice was somewhat impressed at the teen's ability to come up with a believable lie on the spot.

Claire looked genuinely pleased. "That's good K. I really must find some way to thank you." She said to Alice.

The redhead's words were innocent enough but that didn't stop certain images from invading Alice's mind and she had to ignore the knowing smirk coming from K-Mart. Alice could freely admit to herself that Claire was beautiful and if they had met at a bar or club and she was looking for some fun she would have definitely tried getting with the redhead, but Claire was clearly not that type of girl. If Claire thought she was too busy to date than she certainly wouldn't be the type to sleep around. But that still didn't stop Alice's mind from wandering. She cleared her throat loudly. "It's not a big deal, don't worry about it."

Almost an hour later the three of them left the diner when Claire's shift was finally over. The redhead was visibly exhausted and tried in vain to hide a yawn behind her hand.

"Do you two need a ride home?"

"No we're fi-" Claire's response was interrupted by another yawn.

Alice chuckled. "I think you do, come on." She motioned them over to her truck and hopped into the driver's seat. She watched with some amusement as the pair seemed to have a hushed argument outside until a defeated looking Claire sighed and climbed in the passenger side, followed by K-Mart. It was crowded inside the truck with Alice and Claire pressed tightly together in the cramped space. Neither of them noticed the smug smile emanating from the blonde teenager. Alice pulled out of the parking lot and cleared her throat trying to lessen the awkward silence inside the truck. "So, I'm pretty sure it's Friday, do you two have any exciting plans for the weekend?"

"I don't think exciting is the right word." Claire stated dryly.

K-Mart elbowed her sister at the comment. "Claire and I are going to the movies tomorrow and she's worried I'm going to force her to sit through some stupid romantic comedy or something."

"What kind of movies do you like Claire?" She inquired of the redhead.

"Horror. Anything with blood and I'm good. And now that I've said it out loud I realize it sounds like I'm a completely morbid person." Her face flushed with embarrassment.

"No, I'm totally with you on the horror thing. Zombie films are my favourite." Alice confessed, then she chuckled. "Carlos can't stand them so he never lets me pick the movie when we go out, he's terrified we'll watch something that will give him nightmares."

"Well I agree with him." K-Mart piped up. "I don't understand how you guys can watch that stuff and not have bad dreams."

"There's only one movie that's guaranteed to give me nightmares." Alice admitted as she turned onto the next street, only a few minutes away from the Redfields' apartment.

"And what movie is that?" Claire intrigued.

"Pinnochio." Alice answered with a shudder. "Every time I watch it I dream about people turning into donkeys." Next to her she could feel the redhead shaking as she tried to contain her laughter. "Go ahead and laugh, everyone does when they find out, but it doesn't bother me. That movie is completely fucked up and I cannot believe it is meant for children."

Claire and K-Mart looked at each other before bursting out laughing and they were still laughing when Alice stopped in front of their apartment.

"When you're done laughing you might notice that we have arrived." Alice gestured to the building they were parked in front of.

Claire was the first to recover and gave Alice a grateful smile. "Thanks for the ride Alice." The redhead then proceeded to all but push K-Mart out of the vehicle and onto the sidewalk.

With the passenger door still open the teen addressed the older blonde. "So, same time, same place on Monday?" Alice merely nodded her consent. "Ok, see you then." K-Mart was about to close the door when she added, "and if you change you're mind about that other thing we discussed, let me know and I'll set it up." She lowered her voice so Claire couldn't hear and closed the door before Alice could respond.

Alice shook her head at the teenager's stubbornness and waited for the two women to enter the building before driving away.

* * *

><p>Immediately upon entering the house Alice was met by Carlos. He stood in what Alice often called his 'big brother stance' with crossed arms and tight lipped which easily made him look ten years older.<p>

"Where have you been?" He grunted.

"At the diner tutoring K-Mart, remember?"

Carlos glanced at his watch to confirm the time. "You were there all this time? I thought it would only be a couple of hours."

Alice shrugged. "Does it matter how long it took? The girl needs a lot of help Carlos, she thinks Ronald Reagan is one of the presidents on Mount Rushmore." She walked passed her best friend, heading directly for her favourite chair in the living room.

Carlos followed but stood awkwardly in the doorway. "I thought maybe you were avoiding me and that's why you're back so late."

Snapping her head in his direction Alice stared at Carlos incredulously. "I wouldn't do that to you. We had a disagreement last night and that's all." Her face softened and she chuckled sarcastically. "I actually had a very similar discussion with K-Mart today, she thinks you're on to something if that makes you feel better."

"You told her about it?"

"She wants to set me up with Claire. She kept asking me all these questions about if I was seeing someone or if I thought Claire was attractive."

Carlos looked more excited now. "Are you going to go out with her?" Alice shook her head. "Why not?"

The blonde stood up from her chair. "What you and K-Mart seem to be forgetting is that it's not up to you or the 'universe' to decide if people get together. Just because you two want it to happen doesn't mean Claire does, and I think she figures pretty important into this whole scenario and I can't believe I am still talking about this." She threw herself back into the plushy chair, eyes closed and looking completely exhausted.

Carlos took slow, hesitant steps further into the room and sat on the edge of the coffee table in the middle of the room so he was facing Alice. "You're right. I shouldn't be telling you what to do with your life and who you should be sharing it with. I'm sorry."

Alice opened one eye. "So you'll never bring this up again?"

He nodded. "I'll even make it up to you. The game is on tomorrow night, we can stay in and watch it, and I promise I won't make any comments about how shitty the Memphis Grizzlies are. Sound good?"

She seemed to think it over for a bit before reaching out her arm so Carlos could bump her fist. "Yeah, that sounds good."

Carlos smiled, relieved that things were back to normal between them. "But, if you two end up getting together because it's what you both want I reserve the right to say I told you so."

Alice glared openly at him for a moment and Carlos only just got out of the way before she launched herself from the chair and he laughed as she chased him out of the room.


	4. City Lights Cry

**Disclaimer: Resident Evil is not mine.**

**A/N: **You guys are totally awesome with all the reviews you've been leaving, they really motivate me to update as often as I can. You can all thank **Avienda **who requested another update before Monday and here I am to deliver.

**A/N2: **Chapter title is from Armistice, love that song.

* * *

><p>"So what did you think K?" Claire asked as they walked out of the movie theatre. It was pretty late but the cool night air felt nice on her face after being stuck with the stifling heat of the crowded theatre for the previous two hours.<p>

K-Mart bounced happily along the sidewalk, still running on the sugary high of theatre snacks and soda despite the late hour. "I liked it! It was more fun to watch than actually funny, but you can never go wrong with Betty White!"

Claire only half agreed with her little sister. She had let K-Mart pick the movie and they'd ended up sitting through 'You Again.' Claire thought it was kind of a pointless movie, but if K-Mart had a good time then that was all that really mattered to her. As they walked away from the building, leaving the noise and people behind Claire noticed there weren't many other people out and the only source of light came from the street lamps lining the sidewalk. She checked the time on her phone and let out a curse. "Shit, we missed the last bus of the night." She glanced at the short blonde walking at her side. "It will be a good half hour walk. Can you make it or should I call us a cab?"

"No, it's fine. I can walk." K-Mart reassured and as if to emphasize her point she grabbed the redhead's arm and dragged her down the street, neither of them noticing the two hooded figures following half a block behind them.

Claire chuckled at K-Mart, even when the blonde was little she was always trying to prove she could keep up despite the fact that Claire was so much older. "So, did you finish all your homework for the weekend before we left?"

The teen rolled her eyes. "Why do you always have to ask me about school and homework?"

"Because I care, and because we both know what will happen if I don't make sure you're looking after your studies." She wasn't overly hard on her little sister, but she always made certain to emphasize how crucial it was that she did her best in school. After the death of their parents in a car crash three years earlier, the social workers, lawyers, and guidance councilors had all made it abundantly clear that if there was ever any reason that Claire was found unsuitable as a guardian then K-Mart would be taken away from her. It was something Claire didn't often let herself think about, it was her single biggest fear and finding out the blonde was failing history had brought that fear closer to home.

K-Mart seemed to realize what her sister was thinking. "I know you care, I've never doubted that you care. And to answer your question, no I have not finished all my homework yet. Tomorrow I need to start working on my extra credit assignment for Mr. Wesker."

Claire couldn't help but smile as she thought about the painting that was now proudly displayed in their living room. The night of the art show K-Mart had immediately hung it on the wall the moment they set foot in the apartment and had proceeded to stare at it for almost an hour before Claire had finally forced her to go to bed. "How lucky was it that you met Alice the other night right? The painting and then helping you with history, it's like she came out of nowhere to solve all your problems."

K-Mart snuck a sideways glance at her sister, she had promised Alice not to interfere but that didn't mean she couldn't find out what her sister thought of her new tutor. "Yeah, Alice is awesome. She's smart and talented, and totally cool."

"I'll take you're word for it, since you've spent more time with her than I have."

"Would you want to spend more time with her?"

Claire eyed her sister suspiciously. "What are you getting at K?" Not ten minutes ago the blonde had been bouncing around and carefree and now she was calm and selecting her words a bit too carefully and thus K-Mart's attempt to remain nonchalant did not get passed Claire. As far as she was concerned the young blonde was an open book.

"I just think that you and Alice would be perfect together. You haven't been on a date in almost a year-"

"Eight months," Claire quickly corrected, a little embarrassed that her younger sister was keeping such close tabs on her love life, or lack thereof. She made a face just thinking about the last date she had been on. What had been that woman's name? Terri something? All Claire could really remember was the woman had gone on and on about her work in television and trying to win an Emmy. It had all been too self indulgent for Claire's liking and she hadn't even been tempted to go out with anyone else since.

"Whatever," K-Mart waved dismissively. "Alice is hot, awesome, and available; you could do a lot worse you know. But it was just an idea, something for you to think about."

Claire wrapped an arm around K-Mart's shoulders and pulled her close, letting the blonde know she hadn't overstepped any boundaries. "You're right K, I could do a lot worse. But I'd like to know someone more than a few days, I don't believe in that love at first sight crap."

K-Mart smiled up at her sister. "Ok...but admit it, you think Alice is hot."

Shoving the blonde away playfully, Claire rolled her eyes. "Fine, I admit it. Alice is hot, happy now?"

The teen smirk triumphantly. "I knew you thought so, and yes I am happy."

Claire just shook her head and the pair continued making their way home. K-Mart did have a point, it was hard meeting nice women who didn't run the other way when they found out she had full time custody of a teenager, so to know someone who was 'hot, awesome, and available' was something of a lucky break. But she still didn't know Alice very well, and she couldn't be too careful when it came to letting someone into her and K-Mart's lives. It had been a long time since she'd met anyone she actually liked, but Claire was able to recognize those early signs of a crush whenever she was around Alice. When they had shaken hands at the art gallery and sitting so close to the other woman on the ride home last night had made her feel warm inside. Warm and safe. Even though they'd only known each other a few days she felt as if she could trust Alice; not only with herself but with K-Mart as well. And that feeling, while kind of nice was also unfamiliar and the redhead didn't know how much she could trust her instincts when it came to Alice.

They were only about four blocks from their apartment when Claire heard footsteps behind them. Turning her head she could easily make out two figures wearing dark hooded sweatshirts closing in on them. The redhead acted as if she hadn't seen them, keeping her pace leisurely to match the blonde. She leaned towards her sister a little and whispered; "Don't look behind you, but if I tell you to run you had better do it. Run and don't look back. Understand?" K-Mart looked frightened but nodded nonetheless.

"Hey ladies!" One of the men called. "You two are out pretty late, my friend and I are going to a party, would you like to join us?"

Claire grabbed K-Mart's arm tightly and picked up their pace a little, ignoring the men behind them.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" The man yelled again, and Claire could tell he was closer now, just behind them.

She stopped abruptly, turning to face the men and pulling K-Mart behind her and out of sight. The two men stopped as well but stood less than ten feet away. She couldn't make out their faces but the pair of them were both well over six feet tall and she knew there was no way both her and K-Mart could outrun them. "Look, you had best fuck off and leave us alone while you still have a chance." Claire was pretty impressed that her voice didn't shake once and that she sounded much braver than she felt at the moment.

"Ooh," the other one spoke up this time. "I like em feisty, that one is mine."

Before either man could move Claire pushed K-Mart back. "Run!" She shouted and the blonde took off in a sprint. Claire saw the first man make to go after K-Mart and threw herself at him, tackling him to the ground as he went passed her.

The other man was soon pulling her off his buddy. He had a firm grip of both her arms and despite her attempts at kicking and shaking him off he would not let go. "Go get the kid!" He yelled and the man Claire had tackled quickly pulled himself to his feet and took off down the street after K-Mart.

"No!" Claire yelled as she was yanked into a nearby alley that she hadn't noticed before. Her attacker shoved her face first against the brick wall and she felt her lip split open and tasted blood. He seemed to be waiting for his friend to return before he decided what to do with her and Claire's mind cycled through various ways she could try to escape as she prayed desperately that K-Mart had gotten away. However her heart sank when she heard the other man entering the alley and despite the hand covering K-Mart's mouth Claire could hear her sister struggling to scream and free herself from his grasp.

The man holding Claire flipped her over, pinning both her hands above her head with one of his own and used his other to punch her in the gut, and had her hands not been pinned she would have doubled over in pain. But what hurt her even deeper was the terrified expression on K-Mart's face. Claire hated herself in that moment, thinking that this was all her fault. They should have just taken a cab home. It was her job to protect her sister and she had failed miserably. Gathering as much strength as she could muster Claire head butted her assailant and heard a satisfying crunch as his nose broke. He dropped her hands in favour of covering his nose to stop the flow of blood and she pushed him to the ground before going after the other one.

At the distraction she had provided, K-Mart had taken the opportunity to kick her captor in the shins and let out an almighty scream as he dropped her.

"Run!" Claire yelled to K-Mart and once again the blonde took off. But before she could make her own escape the man who had held K-Mart and was now standing between her and the exit pulled out a pocket knife, pointing it in her direction as he took quick steps towards her. The other man was back on his feet and grabbed her again, shoving her against the wall and with both men pinning her down Claire knew she wouldn't be able to fight them off. The only small consolation she had was that at least K-Mart had gotten away and as far as she was concerned that was the most important thing in the world.

* * *

><p>Alice wasn't surprised to find herself behind the wheel of her truck on her one night off even though it was almost midnight. She and Carlos had watched the basketball game as planned and as per usual had made a wager on the outcome. Tonight she had lost the bet and now had to perform a special errand for her best friend. After the game Carlos had decided that he wanted pizza, and not just any pizza. It had to be Chicago style deep dish with every topping known to man, and it had to be from the best pizza place in Raccoon City. The only pizza place in Raccoon City it seemed, that didn't deliver. So there she sat, driving almost clear across the city to procure the most wondrous of all pizzas.<p>

Fortunately, the last time she had been forced to make this errand she'd found a useful shortcut down a couple of side streets. Driving down a deserted street with the windows open to enjoy the night air, Alice slowed down her truck to avoid a stray cat meandering across the street about twenty feet ahead. When it was gone she was about to put her foot on the gas again only to hear a horrified shriek coming from somewhere close by.

Slamming her foot on the brake and putting the vehicle in park Alice jumped out of the truck, hearing another scream as her feet touched the pavement. Looking around quickly Alice spotted an alleyway a little further up ahead and not giving it a second thought, ran towards it to investigate. However, nothing could have prepared her for the sight of a terrified K-Mart running in her direction.

"K!" She called and met the hysterical teen in the middle of the street. "What the hell is going on? Where's Claire?"

The young blonde tried to speak but was having difficulty controlling her breathing as she sobbed. "Claire...two men... needs help..." was all she managed to get out.

Alice's eyes immediately hardened. "Go! My truck's over there, get inside, lock the doors and wait for me or Claire to come get you." Her voice was calm yet demanding and K-Mart quickly nodded and ran off.

Alice sprinted into the alley and despite the lack of light she could clearly make out the scene before her. Two large men had Claire pinned against the wall and one of them was holding a knife. Eyes narrowed to near slits, Alice stared at the men coldly. "Hey boys!" She called to get their attention. "Is that any way to treat a lady?"

Knife-boy came right at her, arms swinging wildly. Alice was easily able to dodge his first few attempts to slice her and managed to get in a couple of hits to his face and chest. But when she tried to block his arm at his next attempt she felt the pain of the dull knife blade cutting into her arm almost a whole inch before she kicked him away, causing him to crash against the wall and smacking his head. He fell to the ground but was not unconscious. The knife had sliced further along her arm as he stumbled back and dropped to the ground as he smacked his head.

Alice looked up just in time to catch Claire knee her captor in the groin and when he fell to his knees she clocked him in the face and he fell to the ground. Now free, the redhead ran to Alice as the two men picked themselves from the ground and scurried down to the other end of the alley to make their escape, muttering something that sounded to Alice like 'crazy bitches' as they clutched their damaged body parts.

When Claire was in reaching distance Alice grabbed her gently at the elbow and pulled her out of the alley into the street and didn't stop until they were standing under a streetlight.

"I have to find K-Mart." Claire insisted, trying to pull away.

"She's safe in my truck, now stop moving while I take a look at you. Are you hurt?" She questioned as the redhead stopped resisting, noticing the blood splattered across Claire's forehead.

"I'm fine. It's not my blood, I managed to break the one bastard's nose. Wish it could have been his whole face though." Claire reassured.

Alice gave her a relieved smile. "Good." She reached up to wipe the blood off Claire's face with the sleeve of her jacket and the redhead gasped at the amount of blood rolling down Alice's arm.

"What happened?" Claire demanded, pulling at Alice's arm and causing the blonde to inadvertently take another step forward. She rolled up Alice's sleeve to discover the source of the bleeding.

"The one with the knife, he nicked me with it. It's not that bad." She tried to shrug it off so Claire would stop looking so concerned but the redhead just seemed to get more upset.

"Alice he stabbed you! You have to go to the hospital. I'll take you, there's no way I'm letting you drive anywhere until you get that arm looked at."

Alice gingerly took of her jacket and pressed it against her wound to slow the bleeding. Claire was taking charge so she didn't argue, and just led the redhead towards her truck. They were met in the street by a still sobbing K-Mart who ran right at Claire and Alice tried not to look as the sisters embraced, feeling like she was intruding on a private moment.

Claire let her sister go and held the young blonde at arm's length. "Are you ok, K-Mart?"

"Yeah, I'm alright thanks to you." She answered, nodding rapidly before turning to Alice. "You saved Claire?"

Alice felt her face flush. "I wouldn't say that, more like I provided enough of a distraction for her to get away."

Claire frowned slightly. "Yeah, and you got yourself stabbed." She then ran her hand through her long red locks as if trying to decide what to do next. "Are you alright enough for us to drop K-Mart off before going to the hospital?"

"Claire I don't want to be left alone!" The teen protested.

The redhead rubbed her back soothingly. "I'm not going to leave you alone K, but you can't come with us. With Alice's stab wound the police are going to be called and we can't have anyone find out you were there. If they even think I almost got you killed they'll take you away from me and I can't have that K. I just can't." The redhead took in a deep breath, trying to pull herself together after the nightmare of a night. "I'll drop you off at the apartment and you can stay down the hall with the Bishops, I'm sure it won't be a problem. And I promise I'll come get you the moment I get back ok?"

K-Mart nodded slowly. "Ok."

"That's my girl," Claire smiled. "Come on, we should get going before Alice bleeds to death. I'm driving."

Alice didn't protest and just followed K-Mart into the passenger side, trying not to get blood all over the interior of her truck.

* * *

><p><strong>Ok, so Alice and Claire are off to the hospital! But wait, isn't that where Alice works? Does that mean we'll get to learn more about Alice in the next chapter? Absolutely!<strong>

**So what kind of work do you think Alice does at the hospital? Leave me your guesses in the review and I'll see if anyone is correct. Also, feel free to leave your guess on who will make the first move, will it be Alice or Claire? I already know who it will be but I'd love to hear what you guys think!**


	5. Suffragette City

**Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.**

**A/N: **It is amazing for me to hear that so many people are enjoying this story. Thank you so much for reading and leaving reviews!Lots of people guessed that Alice works in the morgue, but unfortunately that is incorrect. I'm afraid my version of Alice in this story is not nearly that ambitious.

**Drenn: **I agree with you about it being cliche, but I kind of like the cliches and will definitely be using a few more. I didn't want to make anything too awful happen to Claire and K-Mart because I don't want them to be too emotionally affected by it, if that makes sense.

**A/N2:** Chapter title from David Bowie again!

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><p>As Claire sped into the ER parking lot of the Raccoon City Hospital she noticed Alice was beginning to look a little pale and the jacket covering her wound was now soaked with blood. Claire couldn't help but feel guilty at her own selfishness. She'd taken K-Mart back to their apartment first, leaving the teen with their neighbour down the hall before taking Alice to the hospital. But she had to make sure K-Mart was safe and not around when the cops arrived.<p>

"How are you doing Alice?" Claire asked, quickly parking the truck in the closest available spot to the door.

"I'm going to be fine, stop worrying." With minimal difficulty she managed to open her door and exit the vehicle, and the pair made their way to the entrance. "I know you feel guilty about taking K-Mart home first, but it's fine. You did the right thing. The hospital is going to call the police and you don't want the kid around for that, even though none of this is your fault."

The redhead felt a sharp clenching in her gut at the thought. "I just can't take the risk that they'll take her away from me. I've been her guardian since our parents died three years ago, if I lose her than I'll be letting them down."

Alice stopped walking just as they were outside the entrance. "You're not going to lose her. You proved tonight how much you care about her and her safety. It's going to be alright, okay?"

The first real smile in hours appeared on the redhead's face. "K-Mart was right about you, you are pretty cool."

Alice looked a little embarrassed. "Yeah, well, we should get inside," she stuttered. "I'm bleeding all my awesomeness away."

That snapped the redhead back to reality and placing a hand on the other woman's back she firmly pushed Alice through the automatic doors of the emergency room. The registration desk was easy to spot and as they made their way over Claire noticed several other patients in the waiting room; a mother with two young kids, an elderly man with a bandage over his forehead, and a middle aged woman wearing a face mask as she flipped through a gossip magazine. Claire walked right up to the desk with Alice right behind her to where an attractive African American woman with long dark hair arranged in a braid was sitting, eyes moving back and forth between the chart in her hand and the computer screen in front of her.

"My friend has been stabbed." Claire announced without preamble, getting her attention.

The nurse looked up from her chart, taking in the sight of the dishevelled looking Claire who still had blood covering her face, and Alice hugging her arm to her chest, covered in blood soaked clothing. She glanced back and forth between the two women and Claire was quickly getting annoyed at the nurse's lack of response.

"You're friend was stabbed?" The nurse finally spoke, quirking an eyebrow and Claire was about to jump over the desk and throttle her when Alice spoke up.

"Yes Betty I've been stabbed, so if you're not too busy maybe you can get someone to stitch me up and then we'll be out of your hair."

Betty dropped her chart and stood up, making her way around the desk. "Yeah, of course. Sorry Alice, I was just a little surprised." She gently reached for Alice's injured arm, holding it by the wrist and pulling away the bloodied jacket to get a good look at the cut. Claire felt her stomach flip uncomfortably at the action and she glanced back and forth between Alice and the nurse, wondering how the two women knew each other. "Damn Alice, this looks pretty deep. Was it an accident?"

"No, I'm pretty sure the asshole with the knife meant to stab me" she replied, causing Betty to frown.

"You come with me, I'll have someone fix you up right away." The nurse turned to Claire, "you can take a seat over there to wait."

Claire knew it was stupid and childish but she couldn't help but feel a little jealous as she watched the nurse lead Alice through another set of automatic doors and out of sight. Sighing, and completely exhausted she took a seat in the waiting room, far away from the other patients. Dropping her face into her hands her mind reeled through the events of the evening. None of this was supposed to happen. A little sisterly bonding with K-Mart at the movies had turned into a nightmare. She couldn't even fathom what would have happened to her if Alice hadn't stumbled upon them when she did.

A few minutes later she raised her head at the sound of someone saying her name. In front of her stood nurse Betty wearing a friendly smile. "Hey, it's Claire right?" The redhead nodded. "I'm Betty. Alice filled me in as much as she could and I've called the police so someone should be here shortly. If you come with me, I'll have a doctor look you over."

Claire shook her head vehemently. "No, I'm alright."

"If I may be honest with you, you look like shit, girl. And after what you went through tonight I think it's best if you got checked out." Betty then smirked. "Plus, Alice made me promise that you'd get taken care of, even if I had to drag you down to the examination room myself. And while I'm up to the challenge, I'd prefer it if you just walked."

A small, involuntary smile spread across Claire's face. Even after saving her life, Alice was still trying to help. "Okay Betty, I'll see the doctor; but only because I'm too exhausted to fight you."

"Works for me." Betty jerked her head, motioning for Claire to follow. "So how long have you known Alice?"

"Uh, just a few days. What about you?"

"Three years I think? In this place time just sort of blurs together you know?"

"Alice works here?" Claire's surprise not lost on the other woman who nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah, she loves it. Well, as much as Alice loves anything I guess." A moment passed. "And you two are friends?"

Claire suspected an underlying question but ignored it, instead offering a shrug. "I don't know, we've met a couple of times, and she's been tutoring my sister, but calling someone who saved your life an acquaintance feels kind of wrong." She had no idea why she was saying all of this to a total stranger, but Betty seemed nice enough and the knot in her stomach had lessened considerably after discovering she knew Alice from work and not... something else.

Betty showed Claire into an empty room. "Take a seat on the table, the doctor will be around in a minute. And when you're all done here I'll take you to see Alice, sound good?"

She gave Betty a grateful smile. "Yes. Thanks Betty."

* * *

><p>It was over two hours before Claire was able to see Alice. After the doctor had examined and given her the all clear she'd had to speak to the police to give her statement of what had happened. The officer had questioned her for what seemed like forever before confirming what the redhead already knew; that it had been a random attack and it was very likely that the police wouldn't be able to catch the guys who had done it since she hadn't been able to get a good enough look at her attackers. She'd then had to wait outside Alice's room as the blonde was questioned by the officer. During that time no less than five different nurses and hospital staff approached her asking if there was anything she needed, and each time she politely declined.<p>

When the door opened and the policeman left Claire scrambled out of her chair and stuck her head in the doorway. Alice was seated in an uncomfortable looking chair with her injured arm laying on top of a table freshly bandaged. The redhead almost chuckled at how bored the other woman looked, head hanging over the back of the chair, staring up at the ceiling.

Claire knocked on the door before stepping into the room. "Hey," she greeted. "How's it going?"

Alice flopped her arm on the table. "I am now the proud yet temporary owner of twenty-three stitches. I still need to get a tetanus shot and then should be free to go. You already talked to the cop?"

Claire grimaced. "I felt kind of bad leaving out K-Mart's involvement until it became clear that he had no intention of actually trying to find the guys who did this."

"Makes me wish I had gotten a few more hits in." Alice muttered through clenched teeth.

"I think you've done enough." Claire reassured, pulling up a second chair and moving to sit opposite the blonde.

She watched Alice's features soften and change from vengeful regret to gentle concern. "What about you? I see that someone got you cleaned up. You're all right?"

Claire fixed her hair self consciously. "Yeah, I'm fine. My lip should heal in a few days and other than that all I got was a punch in the stomach, nothing I couldn't handle."

"They hit you?" Alice's fists clenched in anger. "I'm sorry I didn't get there sooner."

Scooting her chair closer to the table the redhead gently laid a hand over Alice's injured arm, rubbing small circles just above the bandage and locking eyes with her saviour. "Don't say that Alice. You did everything you could, if it wasn't for you we wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation at all." She dropped her gaze to watch the action of her thumb over the other woman's skin. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. You got hurt because of me, you could have been killed."

Alice reached up, picking up Claire's hand and guiding it higher up her arm before laying it over her bandaged wound, keeping her other hand over top. "You're not the one who hurt me Claire. This is going to heal, it might leave a scar but if that's the trade off for having you here with me and not dead in that alley then I'll take it. And I'd do it again."

Claire had no idea how to respond so she just nodded dumbly. Dragging her eyes away from their connected hands she gave Alice a shy smile and was rewarded when the hand over hers gave it a firm squeeze and Alice's face broke out into a lazy grin that the redhead thought just might be her new favourite. But before she had time to analyse it there was knocking on the door.

Betty was wearing a knowing smile as she entered the room and winked at Claire when they made eye contact. Blushing, Claire slipped her hand away from the blonde and stood up from the chair. She noticed Betty was carrying a nasty looking syringe and didn't envy Alice for the shot she was about to be given.

"How are you ladies doing?" She didn't seem to expect an answer as she kept on speaking. "Alice are you ready for this?" She waved the syringe menacingly but Alice was unfazed.

"Yep, knock yourself out."

Betty made quick work of the needle before disposing it in the proper bin. "All right, you two are free to go after you fill out the paper work at the front desk." At that Alice finally showed signs of annoyance, sighing at the prospect. "Oh, and Alice, I talked to personnel, you got the next three days off."

"I don't need it-" she began protesting but was cut off at Betty's raised hand.

"I know you don't _want_ it, but you do need it. They wanted to give you a whole week but I knew you'd find that unacceptable and just show up here anyway. So take the time off, sit at home, relax. Do whatever it is that you do when you're not here. Have some fun." She then reached out a hand to Claire which the redhead gladly shook. "Nice to meet you Claire, though I wish it had been under better circumstances."

"Same here."

Betty winked again, though this time at the blonde. "I like this one, you hang on to her Alice." And with that she was out of the room, leaving an awkward silence in her wake.

Alice was the first to recover, clearing her throat loudly. "Right, we uh, should um... go? Yeah."

A different nurse was now working at the registration desk. Her name tag read 'Maggie' and she was a nice older woman who handed over the paperwork with a friendly smile, greeting both Alice and Claire by name.

"This is a really good hospital," Claire commented as she stood next to Alice filling out the appropriate spaces on her clipboard. "I had five or six people come check on me while I was waiting for you."

The nurse behind the desk chuckled. "I bet you did." When Claire looked at her in confusion she elaborated. "I think Betty told the entire hospital about you. And everyone wanted to go see for themselves."

"See what?" Claire asked getting flustered. She looked to her companion but Alice had her head down apparently deeply enthralled in her paperwork. "I don't understand."

"It's nothing bad dear." Maggie attempted to reassure. "Everyone just wanted to get a look at Alice's girlfriend."

Claire was once again stunned into silence as Alice passed her completed work over the desk. "Claire isn't my girlfriend Maggie, and you and I both know how much Betty likes to gossip. I'll just be sitting over there when you're done Claire."

The redhead was beginning to wonder how many weird things could happen in one night and was almost scared to find out what the world had in store for her once she set foot out of the hospital. She quickly worked through the rest of her papers and handed it back to the nurse.

"I'm sure you realize this since Alice saved your life and all, but she's a really nice girl. A little lonely I think though, so if you're not seeing anyone you should do yourselves a favour and hit that." Claire instantly went from mildly uncomfortable to mortified at the suggestive tone the woman took, and offering what she hoped was a friendly smile but in reality was a painful grimace Claire stumbled away from the desk as fast as her feet would carry her.

What was up with everyone trying to push her and Alice together? If she was being honest with herself, the thought had been bouncing around her mind since K-Mart's comments hours ago but she was yet to be fully convinced. Physical attraction certainly wasn't an issue, Alice was absolutely gorgeous but that was least of Claire's worries when she considered dating someone. For the redhead, the most important consideration was how potential partners dealt with K-Mart. She was a twenty three year old raising a teenage girl, and that often sent other women running for the hills. Claire knew she came with a lot of baggage and thus needed someone who could handle the load. And while Alice had yet to show any overt romantic interest in her, the blonde's treatment of her little sister was a very appealing quality. All Claire really knew at the moment though was that she was exhausted, much too tired to give the situation the serious thought it deserved.

Running a hand through her hair she stopped in front of the chair in which Alice was sitting. The blonde looked up, "You ready to go?"

Claire nodded. "Yeah, I think we should get out of here before the hospital tries to throw us an impromptu wedding." Her attempt at a joke was rewarded when Alice brought out that lazy smile again.

"Ooh, still funny at three o'clock in the morning? Betty's right, I should hang on to you."

Claire joined her in laughter and marvelled at how differently her night had turned out. When they had arrived she'd been feeling guilty and scared, but now it was almost like the attack had never happened. The longer she spent with the other woman the better she felt, and that couldn't be a coincidence. She pulled Alice's keys out of her pocket. "Are you allowed to drive, or do I need to take you home?"

"I can drive, it's not like I really need my left arm for it anyway."

"Doesn't it hurt at all?" Claire asked as she threw Alice the keys and they walked out the doors.

"After the adrenaline wore off it did, but not too much. I guess I have a high pain tolerance or something." She shrugged.

Claire yawned as she opened the passenger side door and climbed into the truck. But as tired as she was there were still a few questions she wanted answered. "Alice, how did you find us tonight? Why were you driving around so late?"

"I was on my way to get pizza," she replied as she pulled out of the parking lot. "I lost a bet with Carlos and was suppose to go pick up his favourite pizza, I was taking a shortcut down that street when I heard screaming. Then I saw K-Mart running out of the alley, and you know the rest."

"That's so random, I owe my life to pizza." Claire laughed bitterly.

"Could have been worse right? I mean, what if it had been gummy bears? That would just be embarrassing."

"I think I've been embarrassed enough for one night, thanks to your friends at the hospital. Betty said you work there, what is it that you do? Nurse? Technician?"

Alice shook her head. "Nothing so glamorous I'm afraid. My job is more...sanitation oriented."

It took Claire a moment to decipher the cryptic answer. "You're a janitor?"

"I prefer custodian if you don't mind."

"Sorry, I wasn't judging you or anything cause hello, waitress here. I'm just a little surprised because K-Mart told me you went to college-"

"I did go to college." Alice interrupted the redhead's rambling. "It was fun and I learned a lot. But working at a desk job isn't something I ever wanted."

"Well, what about your art?"

"It's just a hobby. I paint whenever I feel like it and if other people like it that's cool but that's not why I do it."

"So you like being a custodian? Betty said you've worked there for a while."

Alice thought it over for a moment before answering. "I like messes. I like taking something that shouldn't be there and cleaning it up. Most people don't like being around all that blood, but I don't really mind. I work the overnight shift because it's usually quieter. The job works for me because I'm not ambitious. I don't need a high paying job because I don't want fancy cars, expensive homes or destination vacations. I like where I am and can picture myself doing it for the next thirty years and still be completely happy with it." She glanced over at the redhead. "And I sound completely crazy don't I?"

"Not crazy. It's strange that you like something most people can't stand, but it's not a bad thing. You're not like other people, and I find that very refreshing." There was a long moment of silence in which Claire took a deep breath before speaking again. "You're really special Alice. And I'm not just saying that because you saved my life. Everything K-Mart and I have needed the last couple of days you've given us and I'll never forget it."

The truck slowed considerably before coming to a stop in front of Claire's apartment building. Alice shut off the ignition and shifted in her seat until she was facing the redhead. "When we got to the hospital you told Betty I was your friend, did you mean it?" Claire nodded and couldn't hide the smile that was threatening to take over her face.

Unbuckling her seatbelt, Claire had one hand on the door before she changed her mind and turned back to Alice. "Thank you, for everything," she whispered and before she could change her mind again she lent across the front seat and kissed Alice on the cheek. Claire tried to keep the smug grin off her face when she pulled back and noticed the pink tinge covering the other woman's cheeks. "Goodnight Alice." She whispered again before slipping out of the truck and into her apartment building.

She dragged herself up the stairs and knocked softly on the door of apartment 12. Claire only had to wait a moment before a woman with straight blonde hair and blue eyes answered the door. "Hey Elle," she greeted through a yawn. "Is K-Mart sleeping?"

Elle, who was a few years younger than Claire and lived with her father shook her head. "No, she wanted to wait up for you to get back; we're on our sixth game of Battleship. Is everything okay?"

"Yep, everything's fine now. I really appreciate you doing this for me. After the night we had I couldn't leave K-Mart alone."

Elle waved it off. "It's not a problem. I'll just grab the kid; you two both need to go home and get some sleep." She then left the door open and reappeared after a moment with K-Mart in tow. "Thanks for playing with me K, see you two later!"

"Bye Elle," K-Mart said with a wave and once the door was closed the teen wrapped her arms around her sister. "You were gone a long time."

Pressing a kiss into blonde hair, Claire squeezed the younger girl tightly. "Sorry K, Alice had to get stitched up, and we were both questioned by the police. I came back as soon as I could."

K-Mart pulled away and they walked down the hall to their own apartment. "Alice is gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine."

"And what did you tell the cops?"

"The truth, that I was attacked on my way home. I just may have left out the part where you were there too." Claire unlocked the door and pushed her sister inside before entering, locking the door again behind them.

"So we don't have anything to worry about?"

"Nope." Claire ruffled K-Mart's hair affectionately. "Go to bed K, everything's all right now, okay?"

"Okay." The redhead watched her cross the room to her bedroom door before turning back. "Thanks Claire. Alice may have saved your life tonight, but you saved mine."

"That's my job K. I love you."

"Love you too, goodnight Claire." And when the blonde disappeared into her room, Claire retreated to her own bed, and without changing her clothes, fell into an exhausted sleep.

* * *

><p>Despite being used to working nights and being up at all hours Alice was still exhausted when she entered the house she shared with Carlos at almost three thirty in the morning. Upon entering the living room she laughed aloud at the sight of her friend fast asleep on the couch, in a position that could not possibly be comfortable and mere inches from falling to the floor on his ass.<p>

At the sound of her laughter Carlos startled awake and did fall to the floor with a loud thump. He groaned as he sat up and rubbing a stiff spot on his back as he stood. "I was just resting my eyes, did you get my pizza?"

"Nope, I got something better," she held up her bandaged arm. "Twenty-three stitches and a tetanus shot, oh and it's three thirty in the morning by the way."

"What?" He quickly crossed the room to inspect her injury even though it was well covered. "What the hell happened Alice?"

She sighed knowing she wasn't going to get any sleep until Carlos' questions were answered, so she moved to sit on the couch and motioned for Carlos to join her. Breaking the news as gently as she could Alice explained what had happened with the thugs in the alley, getting stabbed, and her and Claire's trip to the ER.

"And you didn't think to call me?" Carlos exclaimed when she was finished.

"It's just a flesh wound Carlos. I'm fine, Claire's fine; things could have been worse."

She watched as Carlos sat in silence, clearly taking it all in. She knew he was considering whether or not he should be upset with her for risking her life and then not informing him earlier of her injury. She also knew that distraction would be her best option in getting him to forget about it, which is what caused her to blurt out her next sentence.

"She kissed me."

Carlos's head darted to the side to stare at her. "She kissed you?"

"Well, it was just a peck on the cheek, but I thought you'd be interested in that."

"You're starting to like her aren't you?" Carlos took her lack of answer as confirmation. "What are you going to do next?"

"Uh, nothing."

Carlos face palmed. "Alice I wasn't even there and I'm pretty sure she likes you. You should ask her out."

"No," she said firmly. There was not a chance in hell she was going to ask out the redhead, especially after the events of the night.

"Why not? What have you got to lose?"

"What if she says yes?"

"Isn't that what you would want?" He asked and Alice could tell he was getting more confused by the second.

"Maybe, but after tonight I don't know." She idly began tracing around the edge of her bandage. "I don't want her to say yes because she feels like she owes me for getting stabbed. If I was willing to break my rules about dating and I'm not saying that I am; but if I did than it would have to be because she wants to date me and not out of pity or some sort of hero worship, you know?"

"Ok Alice, I get it. You want her to like you for you and that's not a bad thing. But you must really like her if you're even thinking about breaking your self imposed no dating rule."

"I don't know Carlos, all I do know is that less than a week ago my life was not this complicated."

"Life always gets harder before it gets better."

"If you say so." She stood, stretching out her tired limbs as she yawned. "I'm going to bed, goodnight Carlos."

Alice left the room and slowly made her way down into the basement where her bedroom was located. And despite how exhausted she was she laid awake in bed for almost an hour, unable to sleep as thoughts of the night flashed through her head. As she pictured K-Mart's terrified face she could almost hear the blonde screaming. And then there was Claire, the image of the redhead pinned against the wall with blood covering her face filled Alice with a pain and rage the likes of which she had never felt before. Was she just disgusted by what those thugs had tried to do, or was it something deeper? Did she have feelings for the redhead? It had been so long since Alice had let herself get attached to someone who wasn't Carlos and she had no idea how to deal with these potential feelings. Accepting that she might indeed like Claire and actually doing something about it were two very different things though. It would be much easier to just keep carrying on the way things were. The redhead had said they were friends and it didn't take a genius to realize that adding feelings to the mix would just complicate things.

But there was this constant nagging at the back of Alice's mind that would not go away. What if by some strange coincidence Claire felt something for her? The thought alone made Alice's stomach flop in a not entirely unpleasant way. She groaned in frustration; never in all her life had she ever had such difficulty in deciding how to approach another woman.

Alice sat up in bed, rubbing her temples as if it would somehow make all the answers appear in her mind. "Claire's not just some other woman," she sighed. Claire was funny, caring, and when it came to K-Mart she was unbelievably selfless. Not to mention she was the most beautiful thing Alice had ever seen. Running a hand through her dirty blonde locks before flopping back on to the bed, Alice stared up at the ceiling trying to decide what to do. Just before rolling over and falling asleep she decided it couldn't hurt to just leave things the way they were for now. At the very least she wanted to wait for this whole 'I saved your life thing' to blow over before she could even think about making her move.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope everyone likes nurse Betty because we will be seeing more from her soon! And I also hope no one is too disappointed with Alice's job.<strong>

**Also, you may have noticed that Elle is not a character from Resident Evil. She is not an original character, I borrowed her from a **_**Heroes, **_**and made her horribly out of character. I ran out of female characters to use (Jill and Rain will appear later)**. **I'm not sure if she'll make another appearance, but it's definitely a possibility.**


	6. Haven't Had Enough

**Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.**

**Feedback:**

I love how vocal some people have been in expressing their distaste with Alice's current occupation, it shows that you guys are invested in these characters and you know that Alice deserves better. I chose to make Alice a janitor because I felt it was a good way to illustrate how static she is at this point. The job itself is not so much important as what it represents. Alice has zero ambition and is pretty much coasting through life right now. I would also like to point out that the story is nowhere near being over, so there is still plenty of time for her to get her shit together. I also find it interesting that people are upset about the janitor thing but no one was offended by Claire waiting tables for ten hours a day; does Claire not deserve better? I think she does, so expect her to be switching jobs a lot sooner than Alice.

**ForumET: **Your review almost broke my face, I was grinning so big. I'm glad you guys are enjoying the story and I'm very sorry you had to wait so long for this update.

**ShoujoAiShusekki: **Yes! Someone who is with me on the cliches, thank you! And for thinking David Bowie is awesome you are officially my favourite reviewer.

**Manya91: **I have to admit that I've never played the games before, so I'm reluctant to use characters I'm not familiar with, but thanks for the suggestion. I will keep it in mind if I need any more characters.

**TheQueen: **WellI'm quite relieved to hear you won't quit reading because we disagree about Alice's occupation. I take your criticism very seriously and your comments have been noted!

**A/N:** I am so sorry about the delay in update. This chapter required some additional work and I've been trying to get my other story back into regular updates so this story got placed on the back burner. The next update will not be nearly as long a wait, I promise. Also, thank you for your reviews. I read them all and greatly appreciate the notes and comments. You guys are awesome!

**A/N2: **Chapter title is from Mariana's Trench. (Gotta love Canadian content!)

**A/N3: **Ok, so I lied. There is one original character, but I don't think anyone will mind too much that we get to meet Mrs. Olivera.

* * *

><p>Claire's eyes darted towards the entrance of the diner every few minutes. Alice wasn't expected to show up to tutor K-Mart for another twenty minutes but the redhead was still on edge, waiting to see if the other woman would actually show. It was a thought that had sprung up on her early this morning; she'd been flipping pancakes in the back kitchen when the stray thought occurred to her that maybe the other night would be Alice's breaking point with her and K-Mart. It was one thing to give up your afternoons to help out a fifteen year old with school, but something else entirely to save the pair of them from thugs and get stabbed in the process. Claire knew she certainly wasn't worth all this trouble and ever since this morning had been worried that Alice was going to figure it out at any moment and never see them again. She knew if that happened K-Mart would be heartbroken and if she was honest with herself Claire would admittedly be more than a little disappointedtoo.<p>

The bell above the door jingled and Claire's eyes immediately transfixed on its location. She smiled at the sight of her little sister coming through the door. Despite their weekend ordeal K-Mart had insisted that she was alright to go to school that day and Claire was happy to see her younger sibling sporting her usual cheerful demeanor as she skipped across the diner, waving to Claire as she made her way over to her usual booth. As usual for this time of day the diner was empty so Claire joined her sister at the table as K-Mart pulled her homework out of her backpack.

"Hey K, how was school today?"

Shrugging, K-Mart flipped through her notebook until she came to an empty page. "It was fine, nothing special or anything. Angie asked me what I did this weekend so I had to lie a little bit."

"You're a terrible liar." Claire interjected, worrying K-Mart might have spilled the truth.

"Well it wasn't so much lying as it was leaving out certain details of the truth. Either way, she didn't suspect a thing."

"That's good." Claire slid into the booth across from her sister. She didn't like the idea of K-Mart not being able to be honest with her best friend but Claire was adamant that for both their sakes no one could find out what happened that night. "Listen K, I know we already talked about everything yesterday but I just want to make sure you're alright. I know that sometime the shock of these kinds of events can take time to settle in and I want you to know that if you need to talk about anything, I'm here for you."

"I know Claire, and I'm fine. I promise to tell you if that ever changes, but for now I'd rather just forget the whole thing ever happened. Can we do that?"

"Sure K, we can try."

It was all the redhead wanted too, to put the whole thing behind them and just move forward. Admittedly her time with Alice at the hospital had done a lot to distract her from the less pleasant memories of that particular evening but K-Mart had no such fortune so even though the blonde insisted she was fine Claire was still worried about her little sister.

She was pulled from her thoughts by K-Mart's voice. "Alice is still coming today, right?"

The redhead knew K-Mart was probably harbouring the same trepidations on whether Alice would show up after everything that had happened. "I hope so, but I'll guess we'll find out soon enough." Claire tried to seem nonchalant but she couldn't stop her eyes from gazing at the clock on the wall to see if it was time for Alice to arrive yet and put their concerns to rest. She decided to change the subject. "Do you have a lot of other homework?"

K-Mart shook her head. "Just some math, shouldn't take too long."

The jingling of the bell over the door alerted them to someone else's presence and both Redfield sisters anxiously turned their attention to the door only to be disappointed by an elderly couple entering the diner instead of the injured blonde. Claire sighed loudly and stood up from the booth to serve the customers as K-Mart set to work on her studies.

* * *

><p>Alice stepped into the diner at 3:15pm sharp, her injury not having caused her any significant delays. K-Mart was easy to spot in the same booth they had occupied last time and Alice easily made her way over to the teen.<p>

"Hey K-Mart," she greeted as she sat opposite the younger blonde. "How's it going?"

"Alice!" K-Mart squealed in excitement. "I'm so glad you showed up." At Alice's obvious look of confusion the teen elaborated. "Claire and I were a little worried that we'd never see you again after the other night. We weren't sure if it might be too much for you and you'd bail on us."

Both the words and the teens blunt honesty caused Alice to frown deeply. The thought had never even crossed her mind that the other night might be a tipping point for some people. With the serious abandonment issues she had she could never even imagine doing that to another person, even if it was just some teenager she was tutoring. "I would never do that K," she said sternly. "It takes a lot more than a little stab wound to scare me off."

K-Mart seemed relieved at hearing this information. "Good. So, how is you arm doing?"

Alice stared down at the bandage. "It's fine. About that though, I'm afraid I can't stay too late tonight K. Carlos called our mother and told her about my...accident, so she's making me come over for diner tonight so she can make sure I'm alright herself. It's really just an excuse to fuss over my wound and then scold me for getting it in the first place."

The teen nodded in understanding. "That's fine. I think it's really nice that your mom still worries about you at your age."

"I don't think it matters how old you get, parents will always worry. I'm sure Claire will be the same way with you, even when you turn thirty."

"God I hope not!" K-Mart sighed exasperated.

"I heard that!" The redhead took that moment to make her presence known and the teenager shrunk further into her seat as Claire approached the table. "You should be a little more appreciative of the things I do for you K, not everyone is as lucky to have an amazing sister like me." Claire boasted causing K-Mart to scoff loudly.

Alice recognized the good-natured teasing that she often shared with Carlos and she was suddenly looking forward to visiting her adoptive mother that evening, knowing that if it wasn't for Carlos' parents she wouldn't even have a family and she made a mental note to go home for visits more often. She was pulled away from her thoughts when the redhead was called away to another table and K-Mart looked at her expectantly, ready to get to work.

After a couple of hours, and some noticeable improvement on K-Mart's part, Alice was forced to call it a day. With a final wave to the Redfield sisters she left the diner and climbed into her truck and made the twenty minute drive out of the city and into the suburbs.

She pulled into the driveway of the house that had been her home for the majority of her childhood and teenage years. As she hopped out of the truck she spared a glance at the house next door that she had once called home, it looked completely different than from when she had lived there. A nice family had moved in several years ago and had painted the outside and added a new front porch to the place. If the house had been picked up and placed somewhere else she would never recognize it as the embodiment of all the sadness and abandonment she'd experienced as a young child. She shook her head to clear her mind before her thoughts turned any more unpleasant. The blonde let herself in the front door and followed the smell of food until she stood in the kitchen.

Elizabeth Olivera, a kindly looking woman in her early fifties stood at the stove stirring a pot when the sound of footsteps alerted her to the presence of another person in the room. Alice had always thought Carlos looked so much like his mother with dark hair and eyes and friendly disposition. When the older woman turned around and found her only daughter standing in the doorway a huge smile spread across her face, she dropped her wooden spoon onto the stove and was soon wrapping Alice in a tight hug. She was about a full head shorter than the blonde, her full height barely reaching Alice's shoulder but her enthusiasm filled the room with her presence.

"Alice! Honey I'm so glad you could make it. I've missed you."

"I was home two weeks ago Mom." Alice remarked but nevertheless returned the embrace.

"I know, it's just that I miss my children so much. I told Carlos to come with you but he insisted that he had to work late tonight." Elizabeth let Alice go and stepped back, a frown now in place at her son's behaviour.

"He's got that big contract they're working on, I think the deadline is the end of the week." She didn't know why she was defending her brother but she didn't want their mother to think the man was avoiding coming home for visits.

The older woman waved off her son's excuse before ushering the blonde over to the kitchen table and the two sat down facing each other. Elizabeth reached over and pulled Alice's injured arm across the table, closely inspecting it despite the bandage covering the wound. "So, are you going to tell me how exactly this happened?"

"Carlos didn't tell you?"

"He told me it was some thugs but I want to hear the whole story from you. You haven't gotten yourself mixed up in drugs or a gang have you?"

Alice sighed dramatically. "No Mom, I'm not involved with anything illegal."

Elizabeth smiled slightly as she did every time Alice called her 'mom.' It had taken over three years for the blonde to finally stop referring to her as Mrs. Olivera and Alice remembered how the woman had shed tears of joy the first time she let the title slip from her lips. Even thought they weren't biologically related, the Oliveras had always felt like family and they always treated the blonde as if she were one of their own but when Alice started referring to them as her parents it finally became real. Mr. Olivera had died two years ago from cancer so as they sat alone in the kitchen with her mother fussing over her, Alice was happy to still see the joy in the older woman's face at the casual address.

"I just worry about you honey, that's my job. So tell me what happened and don't leave anything out."

"Okay, so the other night I went out to get some pizza and while I was stopped in the street I heard some screaming and got out to investigate."

"Alice you could have been killed! I know your first instinct is to help but that's what the police are for."

"There wasn't any time for the police, I only just got there in time to save her." Alice visibly shuddered at the memory of running into the alley and seeing Claire forced against the wall, held at knife point. "I've been tutoring this teenager in history, her name is K-Mart" Alice added a 'don't ask' when Elizabeth looked about to question the strangeness of the name, "and it was her and her older sister Claire who these thugs were messing with. K-Mart managed to get away but she said Claire was still trapped so I had to go help her. This little knife wound I have is nothing compared to what they could have done to her if I hadn't shown up."

"Did the police catch these thugs?"

"No, and I doubt they're going to look too much into it either. We didn't get a very good look at the guys and since no one was critically injured it's not a priority case." Alice sat back in her chair after finishing the story and waited for her mother's reaction.

After a long moment Elizabeth sighed loudly. "Well you always liked playing the hero in those little games you and Carlos used to play so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that you'd go headfirst into a potentially deadly situation. But I guess I'll go easy on you since you saved some poor girl's life."

"Thanks Mom." Alice replied sarcastically and watched her mother stand up from the table and return to the stove, stirring the pot one last time before turning off the burner. A few minutes later a delicious looking bowl of pasta was placed before her on the table and Alice remembered what she missed most about living at home.

"So, this girl you saved–"

"Claire," Alice corrected automatically.

"Yes, is she going to be alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine. She was a little shook up but who wouldn't be? It's a lot to deal with."

Elizabeth nodded slowly before a smirked worked its way across her face. "And this Claire, is she pretty?"

Alice dropped her fork and it hit the table with a loud clatter. "Is she what?"

"Pretty. Come on Alice, you can tell your old mother."

"You're not that old."

"Don't change the subject, just answer the question."

The blonde sighed, she should have known her mother had heard more from Carlos than she let on. "Yeah Mom, she's pretty."

"Just pretty?"

Alice didn't even have to think about it to know that pretty did not even come close to describing the redhead. "No, a lot more than pretty." Alice didn't offer anything further and the older woman didn't press for details.

"And does she like you?" For the first time since she arrived Alice regretted coming over tonight. She should have expected these types of questions knowing full well Carlos' nosiness was a trait inherited from their mother. Alice moved the remaining pasta around the edges of her bowl, aware of the eyes burning a hole into her skull with their gaze. But there was no escaping once her mother got into inquisition mode so Alice was forced to answer.

"I don't know. I think so? I don't know how she could though, the only things she knows about me is my job and my art."

"Then let her get to know you. I guarantee that once she does she'll be falling head over heels." Elizabeth smiled widely and looked at Alice expectantly. "Well, what about you? Do you like her?"

The blonde shrugged. "You know dating isn't my thing."

Elizabeth sighed in a combination of frustration and concern. "Alice you can't let one bad experience ruin your ability to have relationships. If you did we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. You could have held on to the pain the Abernathys left you with;" Elizabeth never referred to them as Alice's parents because as far as she was concerned she and her husband were the only real parents the blonde had ever known. "But you didn't. You let yourself be open to having a new family and we've all been the better because of it. Now I know that girl really hurt you but it's been four years Alice; you can't let it dictate the rest of your life. If you and this Claire girl like each other than you need to open yourself up to the possibilities, otherwise you might miss out on something truly great and I would hate for that to happen to you."

Alice remained quiet for a long time, having a lot to think about. Her mother was right, it had been a long time since her last relationship but that didn't make the idea of starting to date again any less terrifying. The only consolation she felt was that there really was no rush. It wasn't like Claire was hounding her to go out, hell, she still was on the fence about whether the redhead was even into her. Claire said they were friends, but that kiss had felt a little more than platonic. But even if Claire was interested Alice wasn't going to put herself out there only to have a repeat of her last relationship, she was going to take her mother's advice and let the redhead get to know her. She still wanted to wait until her heroic actions of the other night had blown over so this was the perfect excuse not to rush into things.

Alice failed to notice that during her musings her mother had silently left the table and had started washing the dishes. The blonde joined her at the sink and took a clean bowl from her hands, setting it in the dish drainer. Alice leaned over and pressed a kiss to the shorter woman's cheek. "Thanks Mom, you give the best advice."

Elizabeth smiled at her daughter. "I try." She motioned her hand towards a towel. "Now help me clean up this mess."

Alice nodded without hesitation and allowed herself to focus on the task at hand and set aside her feelings of confusion for later.


	7. Somebody to Love

**Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil or anything else in this chapter that isn't mine.**

**A/N:** Ok, so I'm super nervous about posting this chapter; it's pretty long which I know you guys like but I really hope you like the chapter itself too. I thought about splitting it into two chapters but there wasn't a natural break that felt right so you get this monster update instead.

**A/N2:** I'll leave it up to you on the chapter title. Did I take it from Queen, Jefferson Airplane, or Justin Bieber? Hmmm...

**A/N3: **I also cannot thank you guys enough for reading and leaving reviews. I dedicate this ridicously long update to all of you!

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><p>It had been almost two weeks since the 'incident' as Claire was now calling it. K-Mart had surprisingly been able to shrug off the events relatively quickly which was a huge relief to the redhead. Her own lip had healed after a few days and except for the daily reminder of Alice's still bandaged arm it was like it never happened, and for that Claire was grateful.<p>

During the week Alice would come to the diner and help K-Mart with her studies and Claire was seeing a noticeable improvement in her sister. Just yesterday K-Mart had come skipping into the diner and proceeded to talk Claire's ear off about how well she thought she had done on her history test that day.

Upon hearing the bell above door jingle Claire looked up from the table she had been wiping clean and was more than a little surprised to see Carlos enter the diner. She hadn't seen him since the night of the art show and even though Alice had assured her that he was now over his little crush, Claire still felt a uncomfortable in his presence. He offered a friendly smile when he spotted her and Claire was glad when he stopped and stood a reasonable enough distance away.

"Hi Claire, are you busy? I wanted to talk to you about something." He asked.

She looked around the restaurant, it was just after the lunch rush so the diner was relatively empty. She nodded and gestured for him to sit across from her at the table she had just been cleaning. "I can spare a couple of minutes, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you were free tomorrow night, it's Alice's birthday so I'm taking her out to celebrate." Alice hadn't mentioned it was her birthday this week but that didn't really surprise the redhead, the blonde never talked about herself unless asked a direct question. When Claire didn't answer right away Carlos added; "I know it's last minute but I think Alice would really like it if you showed up."

She didn't know if that were really true or if Carlos was just saying that so she would go but in the end she decided it didn't matter. "Where and what time?"

Carlos smiled, genuinely excited that she had agreed. "Ten o'clock at the Hive, it's a bar. Have you been there before?" Claire shook her head and Carlos seemed to become even more excited. "Excellent." He stood up from the table. "Oh, and where we're going is a surprise so don't mention anything to Alice when you see her, ok?" Claire mock saluted her agreement. "And one more thing, Alice has a strict 'no presents' policy so don't feel obligated to bring her something."

The redhead rolled her eyes with a smile, wondering how many weird quirks this women could possibly have. "Ok Carlos, I got it. See you tomorrow night."

The man waved as he left the diner and Claire stood up from the booth and returned to work.

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><p>Claire almost got back into the taxi when she read the sign outside saying it was karaoke night at the Hive. But the vehicle had already sped away so she opted to maybe smack Carlos later for purposely leaving out this important detail in the invitation. The bar was crowded and Claire squeezed her way through bodies looking for a familiar face. She'd barely made it ten steps and had already had to turn down three men offering to buy her a drink.<p>

She spun around when she felt someone lay a hand on her shoulder and came face to face with Betty. The other woman smiled in greeting and gestured for Claire to follow her through the crowded bar. She led the redhead over to a circular table near the stage where a man Claire didn't recognize was sitting. Betty sat next to the man and motioned for Claire to take the seat next to her.

"Carlos told me you were coming, nice to see you could make it." Betty said sincerely and then laid a hand on the arm of her companion. "This is my man L.J; L.J this is Alice's friend Claire." She introduced them and Claire shook his hand.

"Betty told me about you, nice to meet you Claire." Claire glanced over at Betty wondering what the nurse had told him about her but the woman was purposely avoiding her gaze so Claire decided not to comment on it.

"So why did Carlos pick this place to celebrate Alice's birthday? I'm not going to have to sing am I?" Claire was a terrible singer and she really didn't want to embarrass herself in front of people she barely knew, especially Alice. She looked up at the stage, where an obviously intoxicated man was belting out Journey's 'Don't Stop Believing' although it was difficult to hear because he was singing into the wrong end of the microphone.

"Carlos must be a really bad singer if he told us to come here." Betty answered.

"I don't get it."

Noticing her confusion L.J explained further. "Carlos and Alice don't give each other gifts. Instead they embarrass themselves on the others birthday." He chuckled and Claire suspected he had been witness to a number of these events. "One year for Alice's birthday he took her to a fashion show at the mall where he volunteered to be one of the models. I still get a good laugh at some of the pictures she took."

"You've known Alice and Carlos a while?"

He nodded. "Since highschool." He then wrapped an arm around Betty. "Betty and I actually met at Alice's birthday two years ago, so these things aren't all bad." His attention then went to something behind Claire's head and when he waved she turned around to see Carlos and Alice making their way through the crowds and over to them.

Arriving at the table Carlos shook hands with L.J before taking the chair next to him, leaving Alice to take the remaining seat between himself and the redhead. Alice looked a little surprised to see her, obviously not expecting Claire to be there but gave her a lazy grin in greeting.

"Happy birthday Alice!" Betty's excitement overflowed now that everyone had arrived. She stood up from the table. "I'm going to go sign everyone up for a song! Be right back." And before Claire could stop her Betty took off for the stage and Claire resigned herself to her fate of having to sing at least one song.

To distract herself Claire turned back to Alice. "How is your arm?" She almost winced at her lame attempt to start a conversation, but she also really wanted to know the answer since Alice hadn't been able to tutor K-Mart that afternoon because she'd been at the hospital having the stitches removed.

The blonde rolled up her sleeve so the redhead could see the signs of the scab forming where the injury had taken place. "They say it'll probably scar but other than that it's fine."

"Sorry about the scar."

"Don't be, scars are there to remind us of the important things." Alice then leaned in closer to the redhead and whispered conspiratorially. "Besides, scars are sexy right?"

Claire immediately felt the burning sensation in her cheeks and prayed that the shitty lighting of the bar would be bad enough to hide it as she stuttered out a reply. "Definitely." Alice grinned at her response and Claire was certain the blonde was flirting with her. It took her a moment to recover from that lazy smile Alice always seemed to be giving her but eventually Claire was able to find her voice again. "Betty and L.J told me about these birthday traditions you and Carlos have. How did that start?"

Alice leaned back in the chair, thinking it over. "If I recall this whole thing started on Carlos' thirteenth birthday. Our parents gave us some money and told us to go have fun and somehow we ended up at the batting cages. I'm terrible at sports so I spent the afternoon dodging the baseballs rather than trying to hit them. Needless to say Carlos found the whole thing hilarious and made fun of me for a week." The blonde glanced over at her brother but he was still engaged in conversation with L.J. "So a few months later for my birthday I dragged him to the roller rink and spent the evening watching him fall on his ass." She laughed at the memory and Claire joined in. "After that it just became a thing and escalated into these twisted displays of humiliating ourselves. Every year on the other person's birthday you find a new way to embarrass yourself, it can't be something you've already done or it would defeat the purpose. L.J and Betty are the only people who have ever been to one of these and come back for more. And I'm guessing Carlos didn't tell you what to expect when he invited you." She said, locking eyes with the redhead.

"No he didn't. I would have definitely thought twice about saying yes if I had known we were going to a karaoke bar."

Alice rubbed her arm apologetically and Claire felt a slight tingling at the touch. "If it were up to me I wouldn't make you sing, but I know Betty won't be appeased until we all belt one out."

"It's fine, I'll do it. I'm just going to warn you now, I'm a terrible singer, so don't hold it against me."

"Wouldn't dream of it. Besides I doubt you'll be as bad as this one." Alice then clapped her best friend on the back, hard.

Carlos looked to be anything but excited and he sighed. "I'm going to need some serious liquor in me before I get on that stage." He started waving a hand trying to flag down a waitress. "First round's on me, what are you having Claire?"

"Oh, I don't drink." Claire hadn't touched alcohol since the night her parents had been killed in the car crash by a drunk driver. It just didn't feel right to take pleasure from something that had caused her so much pain.

Carlos did not seem put off by her admission. "Soda then?" She nodded and he finally stopped waving when a girl wearing a black apron stopped at their table. She was fairly attractive with long dark hair and Claire noticed Carlos eyeing the girl intently but she wasn't even acknowledging his presence as her eyes were fixated on Alice.

"Welcome to the Hive, my name is Crystal. What can I get you tonight?" She spoke only to Alice and Claire became twice as annoyed when she heard the woman's accent. She was glad to see though that if Alice was aware of the girl's attention she didn't show it, which allowed Carlos to swoop back in.

As he was relaying the drink orders Betty reappeared at the table, sliding gracefully back into her chair. "I wouldn't worry about that girl." She whispered into Claire's ear and the redhead wondered how Betty even knew what was going on without being present. "Alice gets hit on all the time but she almost never reciprocates."

Claire frowned at that. Did that mean she didn't have a chance with the blonde? She had been sure Alice was flirting with her before but now Claire wasn't as certain. She watched the waitress walk away and waited for Alice to engage in conversation with Carlos before speaking in a low voice to Betty. "Then why did you tell everyone at the hospital that I was her girlfriend if Alice doesn't date?"

Betty jumped down from her chair again. "Claire and I are going to the bathroom," she announced to the table and dragged Claire by the arm out of her seat. "I need to look my best for when I get on that stage and rock it." And not waiting for a reply she pulled the redhead behind her through the crowds and into the ladies room. There was only one other woman in the room and Betty waited until they were alone before she spoke.

"Listen Claire, I'm sorry about that. Alice already gave me an earful about making you super uncomfortable that night. But don't you see? That's exactly why I did it!"

Claire did not see what Betty was getting at. "I don't understand."

"Alice treats you differently Claire!" She said it as if it should have been obvious and that frustrated the redhead. How was she suppose to know how Alice treated other women? But her train of thought was lost as Betty kept talking. "I tease Alice all the time about girls and she's never reamed me out for it before. She never gives any woman the time of day, but that night you come barging into the ER all 'my-friend's-been-stabbed' in charge and she just let you. You know the moment I took her to get stitched up she was all up on me to get you checked on."

"She was just concerned. I had been attacked by two rather large men." Claire countered.

"Yeah, but it's the way she said it. As if it mattered, as if you mattered. And she used your name constantly, 'Claire this, and Claire that,' it was all just so out of character for her." Betty than smirked. "And don't forget, I saw the way you were looking at each other when I came in to give her that needle."

Claire remembered that moment well, it was her most vivid memory of that night. It was the moment she had seen just how selfless Alice really was, and she recalled how well their hands seemed to fit together. She shook herself out of the memory. "Ok, so she cares about me. That doesn't mean she has romantic feelings for me." She had no idea why she was trying to talk Betty out of it when in reality this is exactly what she had wanted for weeks."

"Maybe not, but that's why I made those comments to people. I've planted the seed in her mind so if she hadn't thought about you in that way before she certainly does now." Betty stated, thoroughly pleased with herself. She then turned to examine herself in the mirror as the redhead mulled it over. "Look Claire, you didn't hear it from me but Alice is really guarded. I think she's had her heart broken and that's why she doesn't date. Sure she hooks up with girls now and then," Claire felt jealousy spike within her "but she doesn't do the relationship thing, ever." Betty turned so her back was to the mirror. "I think it's high time she got back in the game and I can tell you're someone who doesn't get out much."

"I have a 15 year old to take care of!" Claire objected but Betty waved it off.

"But I can also see how much you and Alice have taken to each other. It's cute actually. You two would be good for one another but if you don't want to take my advice that's fine."

"And what exactly is your advice?"

"Alice won't make a move unless she's sure you're interested. You are interested aren't you?" She looked at the redhead expectantly.

Claire looked away and thought about everything that had happened since Alice had stepped into the diner that very first day. "Yes," she murmured, finally conceding aloud what she'd been thinking about for weeks.

Betty clapped. "Great!" She wrapped Claire in a quick hug. "Now that we have that all sorted, it's time to sing!" Claire groaned but still allowed Betty to drag her from the bathroom and back to their table. "We're back!" She announced and happily fell into conversation with Carlos and L.J leaving Claire and Alice with an awkward silence.

Claire was mentally exhausted by her bathroom excursion with Betty but what was even worse was that now she didn't know how to behave around the blonde. Betty had told her to let Alice know she was interested but she didn't want to throw herself at the other woman. And Alice seemed content to just sit there in silence which agitated the redhead further. Did Alice find her boring and that's why she wasn't saying anything? Claire was ready to start banging her head against the table when Crystal the slutty barmaid returned with their drinks.

She set all their drinks in the middle of the table and then placed an extra one in front of Alice. "This one's on me." She flirted with a wink before returning to the bar.

Expressionless, Alice automatically slid the beverage to the left in front of Carlos and the man quickly chugged it down before picking up his own drink. Claire stirred her regular coke absently with the straw as she watched the exchange.

"You don't want it?"

Alice smiled. "You're not the only one who doesn't drink." The blonde then took a sip from her own drink and Claire noticed it was identical to what she was having. "Alcoholism runs in my family so I never touch the stuff. What about you?"

"The car accident that killed my parents, they were hit by a drunk driver. The joy of alcohol kind of loses its luster after it causes you so much pain."

"Yeah." Alice agreed and rested her hand on Claire's arm. "Sorry about your parents."

She smiled at the blonde. "Thanks." The moment between them was short lived but it lasted long enough for Claire to identify it as such.

Soon Betty was jumping down from her chair again, announcing that she would be first up to sing. Claire shuffled her own chair around so she could see and watched her new friend confidently step onto the stage and grab the microphone. Before singing she addressed the crowded bar. "What's up people of the Hive!" She yelled and the bar cheered. "My name is Betty and I want to dedicate this song to my man L.J and anyone else who is in love." The song then started and Claire didn't recognize it but listened intently as Betty began to sing.

_Head down_

_As I watch my feet take turns hitting the ground_

_Eyes shut_

_I find myself in love racing the Earth_

_And I'm soaked in your love_

_And love was right in my path, in my grasp_

_And me and you belong_

_I wanna run (run)_

_Smash into you_

_I wanna run (run)_

_And smash into you_

_Ears closed_

_What I hear no one else has to know_

_Cause' I know_

_That what we have is worth first place in gold_

_And I'm soaked in your love_

_And love is right in my path, in my grasp_

_And me and you belong, oh..._

_I wanna run (run)_

_Smash into you_

_I wanna run (run)_

_Smash into you_

_Smash into you_

_Head down_

_As I watch my feet take turns hitting the ground_

_Eyes shut_

_I'm in love and I'm racing the Earth_

_And I'm soaked in your love_

_And love is right in my path, in my grasp_

_And me and you belong_

_Oh...I wanna run_

_Smash into you_

_I'm willing to run (run)_

_Smash into you_

_I'm willing to run, run, run, run, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh_

_I'm willing to run, run, run, run, ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh_

_I wanna run, run_

_Smash into you_

_I'm willing to run (run)_

_Smash into you_

It was easy to see why Betty had been so confident earlier, she was a very good singer. Claire decided that if Betty were to ever give up being a nurse and go into the music business she could be a very respectable B-level pop star. When the final note faded the bar cheered again and Betty waved as she jumped down from the stage and returned to the table. L.J kissed her and the pair spoke in low voices and Claire admired their relationship. After a moment Betty spoke to the rest of the table. "Who's next?"

"As if anyone wants to go after the show you just put on." Carlos said sarcastically before downing the last of his drink. "I'm not nearly drunk enough yet." He stood up from his chair and shuffled off to the bar to get another drink, still sober enough to know better than to call the waitress back to their table.

"I guess I'll get my turn over with." L.J said and left the table. A minute later he was up on the stage singing terribly and off beat to Foo Fighters 'Everlong.' Carlos returned to the table halfway through the song with two drinks.

Even with her back to the table and LJ's voice in the microphone Claire could still hear Alice and Carlos talking.

"Why do you have two drinks?"

"Your new friend at the bar said it was for you, and I'm not going to refuse a free drink."

"Well tell her to stop it if she does it again." Alice actually sounded annoyed and Claire felt elated that the blonde was not impressed by the waitress's flirtations.

When L.J finished his song their table was one of the few that clapped, and even though he was terrible Betty was overjoyed at his effort. "Who's next?" She exclaimed excitedly, eyeing the redhead and Claire tried to make herself disappear.

"Go on Claire!" Carlos jeered, the alcohol starting to show it's effects.

Claire sighed but stood up. She felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Alice smile encouragingly. "Pick a popular song," she advised. "Even if you don't sing it well the crowd will love it." Claire nodded and disappeared into the crowd, making her way to the stage.

The man running the thing looked bored and Claire didn't envy him for having to listen to drunks butcher music every week. "Pick a song" he instructed and Claire scrolled through her choices. She stopped when she spotted one that she knew all the words to thanks to K-Mart blasting it from her room everyday, and while it would be embarrassing to sing it might just distract from how terrible she was. Making a split second decision she selected the song and took the microphone from the man and stepped onto the stage.

In the few seconds before the beat started she spotted her friends in the midst of the crowd. Betty gave her a thumbs up and Alice was giving her that lazy grin she loved more and more everyday. Claire took a deep breath and decided to just go for it, humiliation be damned.

_Oh, Ohhh_

_For you I'd write a symphony,_

_I'd tell the violin,_

_It's time to sink or swim,_

_Watch them play for ya,_

_For you I'd be, (whoa oh)_

_Running a thousand miles,_

_Just to get to where you are._

_Step to the beat of my heart,_

_I don't need a whole lot,_

_But for you I admit I,_

_I'd rather give you the world,_

_Or we can share mine,_

_I know I won't be the first one,_

_giving you all this attention,_

_Baby listen,_

_I just need somebody to love,_

_I don't need too much, just somebody to love,_

_Somebody to love._

_I don't need nothing else,_

_I promise girl I swear,_

_I just need somebody to love._

_I need somebody, I need somebody,_

_I need somebody, I need somebody_

The bar had become almost silent, whether it was at her song choice or her terrible singing Claire was unsure. But she somehow managed to block out the stares she was getting and kept on singing.

_Every day,_

_I bring the sun around,_

_I sweep away the clouds,_

_Smile for me._

_I would take,_

_Every second, every single time,_

_Spend it like my last dime._

_Step to the beat of my heart,_

_I don't need a whole lot,_

_But for you I admit I,_

_I'd rather give you the world,_

_Or we can share mine,_

_I know I won't be the first one,_

_Givin' you all this attention,_

_Baby listen,_

_I just need somebody to love,_

_I don't need too much, just somebody to love,_

_Somebody to love._

_I don't need nothing else,_

_I promise girl I swear,_

_I just need somebody to love._

_I need somebody, I need somebody,_

_I need somebody, I need somebody_

_Somebody to love._

_I need somebody, I need somebody,_

_I need somebody, I need somebody_

_I just need somebody to love._

_And you can have it all,_

_Anything you want,_

_I can bring; give you the finer things, yeah_

_But what I really want,_

_I can't find cause,_

_Money can't find me,_

_Somebody to love (oh, oh)_

_Find me somebody to love (whoah ohh)_

_I need somebody to love,_

_I don't need too much, just somebody to love,_

_Somebody to love._

_I don't need nothing else,_

_I promise girl I swear,_

_I just need somebody to love._

_I need somebody, I need somebody,_

_I need somebody, I need somebody_

_Somebody to love._

_I need somebody, I need somebody,_

_I need somebody, I need somebody_

_I just need somebody to love._

_I need somebody, I need somebody,_

_I need somebody, I need somebody_

_Is she out there? _

_Is she out there?_

_Is she out there?_

_Is she out there?_

_I just need somebody to love._

There was one excruciating moment that felt like an eternity but in reality was probably less than three seconds in which there was total silence before the bar erupted in cheers. Claire couldn't believe it but smiled awkwardly as she scrambled off the stage and the crowds parted for her as she returned to the table. The others were all out of their chairs and clapping enthusiastically and she felt her cheeks burn at the attention. She slid into her chair and the others followed suit though Betty was still cheering.

"Wow Claire, you gave the crowd Bieber fever!" Betty squealed with excitement. "You should sing another one!"

Claire's eyes widened. "No, no, no. I've hit my quota of embarrassing moments for tonight. Speaking of which, I think the reason we came here is because someone else was suppose to humiliate themselves." She spoke pointedly to Carlos and the man glared at her.

"Fine. I'll go next, I hope you all are ready for a show!" He shot back another drink and stumbled toward the stage.

When he was gone the redhead gave Alice a grateful smile. "Thanks for the advice."

"You were very entertaining. I don't think you even looked at the words. Are you a fan of the Biebs?"

"K-Mart is secretly his biggest fan but she'll kill me if she found out I told anyone so you'd better not mention it to her." Claire warned.

Alice's grin turned mischievous. "Hmm, I don't know about that, but maybe you can buy my silence."

Claire was going to ask what the price would be but Carlos's voice drew their attention back to the stage.

"Hey everyone!" He slurred and Claire wondered how many drinks he'd had so far. "I'm here to embarrass myself for my best friend slash sister. Happy birthday Alice! This one is for you."

"Oh my god." Claire muttered when a familiar baseline started. Apparently when he was drunk Carlos thought he was Vanilla Ice and enthusiastically rapped 'Ice Ice Baby'. He moved around the stage and even did a little dancing and the redhead was fairly certain that in terms of embarrassment her performance held no comparison to the train wreck taking place in front of her. They all laughed hysterically when he finished and stumbled back to their table.

Throwing himself into his chair he clapped Alice on the back. "It's your turn birthday girl."

"You know what they say, save the best for last." She joked and Betty scoffed.

Claire was very interested to hear what Alice sounded like as she hadn't shown any signs of discomfort at the prospect of singing, but the redhead had also never seen her look uncomfortable about anything. The music started and Alice sang Bon Jovi's 'It's My Life.' In comparison to what she and Carlos had done it was a safe song choice but Alice sang really well and the crowd was loving it. The blonde wasn't as good as Betty but Claire knew she would never have been nervous about singing if she had Alice's voice.

Claire stared openly at the blonde and she was pretty sure she was the one Alice was smiling at whenever she glanced at their table. She felt a nudge on her arm and tore her gaze away to see Betty smirking at her with a knowing expression. "Shut up." Claire whispered so no one else would hear and turned back towards the stage to watch Alice sing. When the song finished people once again cheered and Claire was disconcerted to see the slutty barmaid stop Alice on her way back to the table.

Claire turned back to the table, knowing she couldn't watch Alice get hit on again without wanting to punch that girl in the face. As a distraction she threw herself into conversation. "So, L.J what do you do for a living?"

"I run a used car dealership, it's not glamourous but it pays the bills."

"I love cars, I was doing my apprenticeship to be a mechanic but had to drop out of the program to take care of my sister."

"If you want a job you should go see my guy Chase. He owns a shop and is looking for some help. Here," L.J pulled a business card out of his wallet and Betty passed him a pen from her purse. He scribbled something on the back and passed it across the table. "That's his number and the name of his shop. You tell him I sent you and he'll give you a fair shake."

"That would be awesome, thanks L.J." Claire had missed working on cars so much the last three years. And while she made enough to scrape by at the diner, something like this would be a much better fit.

"No sweat, anything for a friend of Alice's."

At the mention of the blonde Claire noticed that Alice had yet to return to the table. Against her better judgement she turned around and spotted her still talking to Crystal in the middle of the room. As if she could feel the redhead's eyes Alice looked her way and instead of the smile she normally received the blonde's expression was pleading, looking like an animal trapped in a cage.

"You should go rescue her." Betty said, noticing the blonde's predicament. "Alice is too polite sometimes and I don't think that girl is going to take no for an answer.

"Uh, ok." Claire felt herself nodding and slid from her chair. She saw Alice's expression change to one of relief as she approached and feeling bold, Claire slid an arm around the blonde when she reached the pair. Ignoring the waitress altogether Claire kissed Alice on the cheek and nuzzled into her neck. "Hey baby, everyone's waiting for you." She couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth but in her peripheral vision she noticed Crystal take a step backwards so at least it was working.

Easily picking up on the charade she felt Alice relax into her embrace and a hand began working up along her back in a soothing pattern. "Sorry, I just got caught up here."

Pretending to notice the other woman for the first time Claire put on a fake cheerful smile. "Oh, hi there. I'm Alice's girlfriend Claire, who are you?"

The waitress took another step back. "Uh, no one. I was just telling Alice what a nice voice she has. Nice to meet you both." She then scurried back toward the bar, and even though she was gone Claire led Alice by the hand back to the others and only let go when they were both seated again, instantly missing the contact.

"Girl, you put on a show." Betty enthused, and the redhead was somewhat embarrassed that they had all been watching.

"Thanks for the rescue." Alice whispered in her ear.

Trying her best not to shiver at the warm breath tickling her ear Claire managed to squeak out a reply. "Anytime."

Forgetting they weren't alone the redhead jumped when L.J spoke. "You were great Alice, I almost forgot how well you can sing."

The blonde shrugged. "It's been a long time since highschool."

"Oh, I sense a story!" Betty said. "Come on, let's hear it."

"Ugh, I'd rather not be reminded of highschool." Carlos then muttered something about needing another drink and left the table.

L.J laughed as his friend walked away. "It wasn't that bad. The three of us had a band." He explained to Betty and Claire. "And we were the best funk band in this city!"

The two women burst out laughing. "Funk? I would have liked to see that!" The redhead stated. "Maybe you guys could do a reunion show."

"I would totally be up for it," L.J insisted. "But Carlos would never agree to it, even though the band was his idea. He thought it would be a great way to meet chicks."

"I'm guessing it didn't work out for him?" asked Claire.

"We met a lot of girls alright, but nobody wanted him. Girls never want the bass player they want the front man." He explained. "Or in this case, the front woman."

Betty was almost falling out of her chair. "Wait up! Let me get this all straight. The three of you had a funk band, and Alice, this Alice sitting right here was the front person?" L.J nodded. "And what on earth did you guys call yourselves?"

"'Informal Situation.'" Alice answered, "it was L.J's idea," she explained when the other women looked at her curiously.

Carlos chose that moment to return to the table. "What's so funny?"

Betty calmed herself down enough to answer. "We were just hearing about 'Informal Situation', the best funk band in Raccoon City!" She then doubled over in laughter again.

Carlos rolled his eyes. "You know, there's an important lesson to be learned from that. Never be in a band with your hot sister. Alice got more play in senior year than I did in all four years of high school." He huffed.

The fun continued for another few hours. Everyone but Claire sang a few more songs and it was almost two o'clock in the morning when Alice deemed that Carlos was far too drunk and it was time to go home. Claire and Alice watched L.J and Betty leave in a taxi while Carlos was propped against the wall, humming to himself and Claire was pretty sure the tune was 'Ice Ice Baby' again.

Alice also heard the humming and shook her head at his behaviour. "Do you think you could help me take him home? Last time he passed out on the way and I had to leave him in the car because I couldn't carry him into the house by myself."

"Sure." Claire instantly agreed to the request, but admittedly it was for selfish reasons. She was quite curious to see what the blonde's home looked like and this was the perfect opportunity. And if she were completely honest with herself she wasn't ready to part ways with the other woman yet.

"Great." Alice walked over to her brother and held out her hand. "Keys." Instead he gave her a high five. "Carlos! Car keys." This time he reached into his pocket and with some difficulty was able to retrieve his keys after which Alice grabbed them from his hand. "Come on, we're going home." She then pulled him away from the wall and proceeded to push him along, her brother laughing at every step. Claire gladly trailed behind, watching the whole thing take place. Alice stopped in front of a silver sedan and the redhead figured this was Carlos' vehicle. The man automatically tried to get into the driver's seat but Alice hadn't yet unlocked the door. "You're riding in the back Carlos," she said gently and like a well trained dog he happily obeyed. Once he was situated the two women climbed into the front seats. Almost as soon as Alice turned on the ignition Carlos was out cold. They drove in silence for a while, with the man whimpering in his sleep every now and then.

"Was it a good birthday?" Claire asked, genuinely interested in the answer.

"Best one in a while. Thanks for coming."

"I had fun, you're friends are really cool."

"Betty really likes you, and trust me she's not easy to please."

Claire chuckled lightly. "I like her too. She apologized for the hospital thing; said you reamed her out."

"She can get carried away sometimes, but she's harmless."

The rest of the ride was in silence and by the time Alice pulled into the driveway next to her truck Carlos was still unconscious. Alice looked at him over her seat. "Guess we will have to carry him." They got out of the car and Claire joined Alice on the driver's side and helped the blonde pull the sleeping man out of the back seat.

"It doesn't bother you that he drank so much?" Claire asked as she and Alice each wrapped one of Carlos' arms over their shoulders, letting his feet drag as they carried him towards the front door.

Alice shook her head. "No, it's not a regular thing and I'm not going to tell him how to live. Besides, even when he gets like this" she gestured at her sleeping brother "he doesn't remind me of my mother so it really doesn't bother me."

So Alice's mother had been an alcoholic? Claire was still a little confused about how Alice and Carlos were related when they were different ethnicities and different last names. Was Alice adopted? It didn't seem like the appropriate time to ask, but the question alone reinforced how little she actually knew about the blonde.

It took Alice a little longer than normal to unlock the door and they had to walk sideways to get through but eventually they made it inside. "This way," Alice led them through the house and kicked open the door to Carlos's bedroom. The room was a mess of clothing and items scattered everywhere and Alice swept her hand over the bed to knock various items to the floor. Then carefully manoeuvring the unconscious man the pair managed to get him settled on the bed on his side. "I'm going to grab him some asprin and water for when he wakes up." Alice left the room and while she was gone Claire made quick work of removing Carlos' shoes, dropping them carelessly to the floor. The blonde returned and laid things out on the nightstand and Claire didn't envy the hangover Carlos was going to have when he awoke.

"Will he be alright?" The redhead asked as Alice shut the bedroom door behind them as they left the room.

"Yeah, once he sleeps it off he'll be fine. He doesn't do this very often." Claire wasn't sure if that justified his behaviour but if Alice wasn't bothered by it than she had no reason to be.

They ended up sitting on opposite ends of the couch in the living room. Claire noticed that with the exception of Carlos' room the rest of the house was impeccably clean and attributed it to the blonde. The furniture was all mismatched and the built in bookcase surrounding the television was overflowing with DVDs and CDs. The room was decorated with pictures of Alice and Carlos as children with an older couple who Claire assumed was their parents. And in the picture closest to her she could see that they were obviously Carlos' biological parents, confirming her suspicions that Alice must be adopted. There were also a few paintings hung up along the walls and Claire guessed they probably were the work of the blonde.

"Are all of these paintings yours?"

"Yep. These are the rejects that could not be sold at the art shows."

"I like them." Claire replied automatically. She'd grown rather fond of the painting hanging in her own living room that seeing others like it was genuinely interesting. "And if these are the only ones you haven't sold then you've done well for yourself."

"Oh, these are just a few. I have a lot more in the basement. Do you want to see?"

The redhead nodded rapidly. "Of course! K-Mart will be so jealous when she finds out." Alice chuckled at the comment and motioned for Claire to follow her. She had been expecting an unfinished basement for some reason but that wasn't the case at all. The entire space looked to be converted into a studio set up on one side and bedroom on the other, with the bedroom being an obvious afterthought as it contained only a bed and dresser. On the far wall between the two spaces were bookcases lined neatly with colourful paperbacks and hard covers. "This is your room?" Claire asked stupidly as the answer was obvious.

"Yeah," Alice rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke. "There's another bedroom upstairs but I like having my stuff and my art all in one place. So if I have an awesome dream that inspires me, I can just roll out of bed and get something on canvas while the thought is still fresh."

"Makes sense." Claire wandered over to where completed canvases were leaning against another wall, taking each one in carefully. "These are great Alice." When she finished looking at the art she circled the rest of the room, too curious not to try and figure out more about her crush, but still trying not to look nosey. She scanned the first bookshelf she came to and quickly noticed a theme. "You really are a history geek aren't you?" Claire turned around and smirked at the blonde, but Alice nodded proudly.

"You can probably tell that American history is my favourite, specifically the presidents. Which leads me to a very important question."

"Shoot." Claire replied, slightly nervous.

"Are you sure? Your answer will determine the entire future of our friendship." The blonde winked to let Claire know she was kidding but the redhead decided to play along.

"I think I can handle it. What's the question?"

Alice took a few steps forward, separating the distance between them and said in a completely serious tone: "Who is your favourite president?"

Claire scoffed aloud. "That's the question determining the future of our friendship?" Claire honestly couldn't give a shit about the presidents but it was obviously important to Alice and thus she really didn't want to answer incorrectly even though it was an opinion question. She scanned her brain for memories of history class as Alice waited patiently for an answer, and suddenly it became obvious to the redhead. "Theodore Roosevelt." She stated confidently.

"And is there a reason he's your favourite?"

The redhead smiled widely. "Cause he was a total badass! He got shot during a speech once and that mother fucker got back up and finished his speech before going to the hospital. He reminds me of you."

Alice nodded. "Excellent answer, you win the grand prize."

"Oh, what did I win?" Her response half excited, half sarcastic.

"How about the best pizza in Raccoon City at three o'clock in the morning?" The blonde suggested.

Claire's grin widened. She never expected the night to turn out like this when she'd hopped out of a cab hours ago and groaned at the prospect of karaoke. And now it was almost like she and Alice were on a date, if dates included drunk brothers and presidential trivia. "Pizza sounds awesome."

The redhead had insisted on paying for the pizza on the argument that technically they were still celebrating Alice's birthday, and now they sat across from each other at the only pizza place opened 24/7 eating the most amazing pizza Claire had ever tasted.

"You were right, this is by far the best pizza in the city." Claire sighed, sitting back in her chair, unable to eat another bite. The place was empty aside from the two bored looking teenagers behind the counter who disappeared into the back kitchen every few minutes where the redhead was certain the faint smell of weed was emanating from.

"So," Alice drawled, sitting back in her chair as well. "I'm assuming the waitress thing a temporary gig, is there something else you'd rather be doing?"

Claire nodded. "I've been working at the diner for about a year, it's good because I can get as many hours as I want and can work while K is at school. The first two years we lived here I worked a bunch of odd jobs around the city but nothing really stuck. Before I became K-Mart's full time guardian I was working my mechanic's apprenticeship, which I unfortunately had to give it up when our parents died. But L.J told me he knows a guy with a shop who's looking for some help, so hopefully my time at Umbrella Co. Dining will soon be up."

"That's great! L.J makes really good connections with his business, Carlos and I rent the house from someone L.J set us up with."

"You know, I can't think of very many people who would still want to be living with their brother."

"Carlos and I were friends before we became siblings, and it's really only when he gets crazy overprotective that I actually think of him as my brother. We had been neighbours since we were born and we've been best friends for as long as I can remember. He was an only child so his parents didn't mind that I spent more time at their house than I did at my own and when my parents split they took me in without hesitation."

Claire couldn't imagine why Alice's parents would take off but she didn't want to push too much too soon.

"So his parents adopted you?"

"Yep. The state couldn't track down any of my relatives who could take me in. I was actually kind of happy for that, I wanted to stay with Carlos and his parents rather than move in with people I don't even know. And if it wasn't for the Oliveras I would have ended up in foster care. They're really great people, I owe them so much."

"And you've never tried to track down your real parents?"

"My _real_ parents still live in the same house out in the suburbs, well at least my mother still does, our father died a couple of years ago. As for my _biological_ parents, I really couldn't care less about what happened to them. They've never tried to contact me either so I assume the sentiment works both ways." Alice didn't sound angry, rather she spoke as if she were talking about the weather, as if it were just some fact to be stated and they weren't talking about the people who were supposed to have loved Alice unconditionally and protected and cared for her like most other parents did. The redhead didn't speak for fear that anything she said would sound like pity and suspecting that Alice wouldn't welcome that sort of response.

The blonde seemed to recognize the awkward turn the conversation had taken and offered a small smile. "I don't hate them for what they did, not anymore at least. It all worked out really well for me in the end, I got parents who actually care and the best brother and best friend in the world."

At that Claire cracked a smile. "I'm glad, everyone deserves a loving family."

Alice nodded her agreement. "What about you? It's just you and K-Mart at home?"

"Yeah, our older brother Chris is in the military so he's not around much, but since the accident it's just been me and K. We use to live in Nevada actually, but after we lost our parents she needed a fresh start so we moved here. She took their death pretty hard and couldn't stand to be in that house so we agreed that starting over somewhere else might be a good idea, and K-Mart really likes it here so I'm glad we did it."

"It couldn't have been easy though, just picking up and moving across the country? I mean, I only had to move next door after my parents split, and even then not much of my life changed since I spent so much time at Carlos' house anyway. I can't imagine having to just start over somewhere else."

"Chris took care of all the moving arrangements while he was on leave for the funeral. I think he feels a little guilty about leaving us alone for so long but I don't resent what he's chosen to do with his life. We miss him but K-Mart and I have been fine on our own."

She'd never really thought about it before but it was true. She and K-Mart had done just fine for themselves these last three years. It had been really hard in the beginning, K-Mart had only been 12 at the time and adjusting to a new school in a new city had taken some time but that was to be expected. The large age gap between them had always kept them from being really close before, with Claire being almost a decade older she'd never had much in common with K-Mart, but now the redhead could not imagine her life without the daily presence of her younger sister.

Claire stared at the woman across the table from her where Alice seemed to be contemplating eating another slice of pizza but ultimately decided against it, pushing the remaining food aside. Somehow in the last couple of weeks Alice had seamlessly infiltrated her and K-Mart's lives. Ever since becoming full time guardian of her younger sibling Claire had become especially wary of allowing people into their little world. But with one painting Alice had changed their lives completely. Alice had become K-Mart's idol overnight and within days of their meeting Claire had found herself starting to fall for the other woman. With anyone else Claire would have questioned her own sanity but things felt different with Alice, as if the rules didn't apply to her. Alice marched to the beat of her own drum and Claire was constantly trying to figure out the rhythm. The blonde went back and forth between flirty and reserved, and full of confidence and uncertainty. It kept the redhead guessing, which she would never admit but she secretly loved it.

And even more than that, Claire felt something with Alice that she could only describe as 'right.' Their touches at the hospital had been both reassuring and exhilarating, and even earlier tonight when the redhead had pretended to be Alice's girlfriend she couldn't deny how well they had seemed to fit together. The problem was that Claire didn't know if Alice felt the same way. Maybe the blonde didn't think they fit together at all, but Claire would never really know unless she asked. However, before she could think of anything to say her body let out an involuntary yawn.

"Sorry," she apologized, covering her mouth.

"It's alright," Alice replied with a crooked grin. "I sometimes forget other people aren't use to being up all night like I am." She checked the time on her watch. "It's almost four-thirty. Come on, I'll take you home."

Claire nodded and stood up from the table, tossing out their garbage on the way to the door and allowing Alice to drive her home. "It's a good thing I don't have to work today, I'd be dead on my feet."

"Sorry for keeping you out so late." Alice apologized as they drove through the deserted streets of the city. Claire could see why the blonde liked the night so much, with no one else around everything was more serene.

"I had a really good time tonight, but don't tell Betty or she'll drag us out to karaoke again."

Chuckling, Alice turned onto the redhead's street. "I promise I won't tell her."

"Good." Claire spotted her apartment building but still couldn't bring herself to leave Alice's presence. "Do you want to come inside?" Immediately she realized how suggestive it sounded, and while it wasn't an unpleasant thought she really didn't want her first time with the blonde to be at four-thirty in the morning when she was completely exhausted. "I mean, you showed me your place so it's only fair that you get to see mine."

"Ok," Alice decided after only a moment's hesitation and pulled into an available parking spot a little bit further down the street from the desired building. Both women jumped out of the vehicle and Alice followed Claire into the apartment building and up several flights of stairs. They stopped outside apartment 15, the last one at the end of the hall and the redhead produced a key and slowly unlocked the door. She silently prayed that the apartment wasn't too much of a mess and was relieved to see it hadn't looked like a bomb exploded when she opened the door and allowed Alice to step into her home.

Claire shut the door behind them once they were inside and motioned to a door adjacent to the living room. "I'm just going to check on K-Mart." She said and Alice nodded in understanding. Claire crossed the room and opened the teen's door as quietly as possible. K-Mart had fallen asleep with the light on again and Claire crept across the floor, adjusting her sister's blanket before turning off the light and leaving the room, making sure to silently close the door behind her again.

Alice was standing in front of the fireplace that didn't work, looking at the pictures of the Redfield clan that were set up along the mantle. The photograph in the centre had been their last family picture, taken after Chris' completion of basic training. He stood in the middle in full uniform with their parents on one side and his sisters on the other, all of them beaming at the camera. K-Mart was the spitting image of their mother with her long blonde hair while Chris and Claire retained more of their father's traits, Chris with his dark hair and Claire sharing his bright blue eyes.

"This is your family?" Alice asked in a low voice as to not wake the teenager when Claire stood next to her in front of fireplace.

"Yeah, that's Chris and those were my parents." It was a bit unnecessary to point them out but she did it anyway. She then pulled Alice by the arm over to the couch and the pair sat down. "So this is it, our humble abode. What do you think?" Claire knew her home was nothing impressive, but she also knew Alice would never say that and was curious to hear how the blonde would respond.

The blonde woman looked around the room silently for a moment before speaking. "Honestly? It's almost exactly like I pictured it."

"You've thought about it?" Claire couldn't help but tease causing Alice to flush a little.

"Well, I've seen the outside so many times I couldn't help wondering what the inside looked like."

"And it surpasses your expectations?" Alice nodded and the redhead laughed. "You must have had really low expectations."

"No, that's not it at all. It's just," she trailed off looking around the room again. "You can see the obvious differences in personality between you and K-Mart." Claire motioned for her to continue and Alice stood up and moved away from the couch. "You picked the colour of the walls, something bright but not distracting." She observed, touching a spot on the wall where the sea foam green hadn't been covered with decorations. "And I'm guessing it was K-Mart's idea to hang the painting in here but only because I suspect her walls are already overcrowded with posters." She looked to Claire for confirmation and the redhead nodded.

"Anything else?"

"You let K-Mart pick the furniture." Alice stated as she retook her place on the couch, running a hand over the brown suade. "It's not practical in the least but K-Mart probably liked it because it looks nice and is comfy."

Claire was in disbelief, Alice had been right on all accounts. Claire remembered how excited K-Mart had been at the discount furniture warehouse, testing each and every couch and chair until she declared that this is what they had to have in their apartment. Initially the redhead had hated it, but K-Mart had become so enamoured with the couch that she just couldn't say no to the blonde

"How do you do that?"

Alice shrugged. "K-Mart is all about expression, whereas you're more of a simplistic type. You like things that are understated and practical but K-Mart is all about the visual." She glanced around the room again. "Your place is a very nice balance between the two, I really like it."

"Thanks," Claire replied before another yawn escaped her mouth. A loose strand of red hair fell across her face and before she had a chance to tuck it back Alice had reached out and done it for her. As if realizing what she had done, the blonde snapped her hand back and averted her gaze.

Claire decided then and there that they had done enough dancing around each other and it was time to act. She scooted closer to Alice on the couch, effectively trapping the blonde between herself and the armrest. "I'm really glad we met Alice."

"Me too, you and K-Mart are great."

The redhead had to stop herself from rolling her eyes at how clueless Alice was sometimes. Instead she took a deep breath and decided for an even more direct approach. "I don't want to talk about K-Mart, I want to talk about you and me. I really like you Alice, and I want to know if you feel the same." She held her breath as Alice's eyes widened at the admission and Claire was seriously hoping that Betty had been right about this or she was going to send her to the hospital for a reason other than working.

After what felt like an eternity Alice finally spoke. "I'm not someone you want to get involved with Claire."

This time Claire did roll her eyes. "You're not answering my question Alice. Just tell me the truth and afterwards I promise to listen to all your excuses. Do you like me? Yes, or no?" The redhead got an answer almost immediately with Alice nodding her head. "Great. Ok, now you can tell me all the reasons why we shouldn't date. Go."

"It's just not a good idea Claire, I would be a terrible girlfriend. I'm kind of a mess."

"I don't believe that for one second. You know exactly who you are Alice, it's actually what I like most about you. You know what you like and what you want from life, and you don't judge others because of the things they like and want. I get that you don't exactly have the picture perfect past but I don't think you're a mess Alice. I think you're kind, intelligent, brave, considerate, and not to mention undeniably beautiful. I'm only asking for one date Alice, not a commitment ceremony."

The blonde became flustered at all the compliments and quickly spluttered out another potential excuse. "What about K-Mart? Don't you need to consider her in all of this?"

The redhead tried not to chuckle. "K-Mart practically worships the ground you walk on. Sometimes I think she has her own little crush on you." Claire teased before becoming serious again. "I would never even think about dating someone without thinking about their affect on K-Mart. We both know how much she likes you and I suspect even you know how ecstatic she would be if we were together."

Alice looked to be coming up with another reason but the redhead had heard enough and silenced the other woman by placing a finger over the blonde's lips. "I don't know why you're trying so hard to fight this Alice but I will make you a deal alright?" She then moved her hand away so she could hear the other woman's answer.

"What's the deal?"

"I'm going to kiss you." Claire said with a lot more confidence then she felt. "And if you don't feel anything then no hard feelings and we can stick to being just friends." She slowly began to lean toward the blonde and lowered her voice an octave. "But if you do feel something..." Claire trailed off and hoped Alice would both understand and accept her challenge. She stopped less than an inch away from the other woman's lips, cupping the back of Alice's neck as gently as humanly possible and whispered. "Do we have a deal?"

"Yes," Alice breathed and that was all the confirmation Claire needed before closing the almost imperceptible gap between them.

At first it was a shock to the system, Alice's lips were the softest the redhead had ever kissed. And the weight of finally having kissed the blonde mixed with the feeling itself exhilarated Claire to no end. But she had been kissing Alice for a few seconds now and the blonde had remained immobile. She had hoped physical contact would break down the barriers and allow Alice to accept what Claire was beginning to realize was an obvious connection between them. The point of the challenge was to get Alice to kiss her back and prove that the blonde felt it as well. Briefly she considered the possibility that Alice was purposely holding back, if only to prove her own point but Claire would have none of it. She started to kiss Alice more insistently and after a moment her attempts to deepen the kiss were finally rewarded when she felt the blonde's lips twitch against hers. Feeling the smallest amount of smug satisfaction she couldn't help but grin into the kiss and the movement seemed to spur Alice into action.

The next thing Claire knew she felt hands on her where there hadn't been any before. One had instantly become tangled in her long red locks and the other was slowly inching its way up her back, and with each passing second working to pull the redhead closer to the warm body that only moments ago had been completely unresponsive. In the course of less than three seconds kissing Alice had gone from exhilarating to mind blowing. Every spark the redhead had felt in each of their previous innocent touches had been outdone by the burning desire now coursing through her veins. She pulled back to take a deep breath only to have Alice reinitiate the kiss moments later.

With Alice now a willing participant, Claire didn't have to try as hard and was free to relax into the kiss and allow the blonde to take control. She felt a tongue swipe across her bottom lip in a tentative request for entrance and immediately she granted access. Claire let her hand that had been cupping the blonde's neck travel higher and tried to pull Alice impossibly closer while her other hand maintained a firm grip on the edge of the couch to keep them from falling to the floor. At the first touch of Alice's tongue against her own Claire couldn't stop the moan trying to escape the back of her throat and let herself collapse completely on top of the blonde, forcing them both deeper into the plush cushioning of the couch. The redhead could faintly taste the pizza they had eaten less than an hour ago but it was overwhelmed by something sweet and intoxicating, and uniquely Alice. Claire couldn't think of a better way to describe it at the moment but was finding it difficult to think about much of anything when she had what she was certain was the woman of her dreams trapped firmly beneath her.

It was only when the issue of oxygen could no longer be ignored that Claire forced herself to slowly pull away. She didn't move from her position over the blonde and opened her eyes to gaze down at the other woman, hoping her eyes wouldn't completely give away how much she'd enjoyed the kiss. They were both breathing deeply and Claire felt a surge of pride as she took in the sight of Alice's swollen lips and tangled hair.

"So," the redhead breathed slowly, still trying to catch her breath. "I'm going to take that as a yes, because you honestly can't kiss me like that and then not go out with me." Her stomach then flipped uncontrollably when Alice responded with a lazy grin.

"I think it works both ways. You can't kiss _me_ like that and then not take me out on a date."

"Good, then we're in agreement. I'm taking you out on a date next week."

Alice stared up at her and tucked another errant strand of red hair behind Claire's ear. Claire didn't recognize the look on the blonde's face, it appeared to be a strange mix of happiness and resignation which she thought was a weird combination. But it vanished almost immediately, replaced with a smirk that Claire would look forward to from that moment on. "Deal." Alice agreed, and with that Claire felt herself being pulled back in for another deep kiss.

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><p><strong>Ok, I've mentally prepared myself for any criticism about the karaoke thing. So let me have it! But seriously I hope you enjoyed the long update, the next chapter isn't finished yet so I don't know how long before it will be posted.<strong>

**Congratulations to those who picked Claire to make the first move, you guessed correctly!**

**Also, for anyone who's interested, the song Betty sang was Beyonce's 'Smash into You' which some people may recognize from the end credits of the movie **_**Obsessed**_** but I won't blame you if you didn't see it...**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and I love me some reviews!**


	8. Open Arms

**Disclaimer: Resident Evil isn't mine.**

**Feedback: **Thanks to everyone who left a review. You cannot imagine my relief to hear that you guys enjoyed the last chapter. But it also puts on the pressure to make this chapter just as good. Also, I apologize for not being able to give everyone individual feedback, but please know I read and appreciate all your reviews!

**CoffeeGrain:** I didn't think the chapter was ever going to end, so I'm glad you liked the long update. I never cared for Betty in the movie but I really like writing her in this so you can expect more of her in upcoming chapters.

c**k: **Of course Chris is going to be coming back! I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to the undoubtedly awkward first meeting between him and Alice.

**TheQueen: **For some reason I was extra relieved to see that you enjoyed the chapter.

**Mercs2Girl:** I picked the Beyonce song because it's awesome, but I'll admit I would have never heard it if I hadn't seen _Obsessed _which I only own because Ali Larter is in it. And yes, I did have Alice's voice based off Milla Jovovich's real voice.

**WhatHurtsMeMost: **Welcome to the story! Thanks for reading!

**BleachedBlondeDork: **I do not play Deus EX, I'm afraid I don't even know what that is. I must thank you for something though, you have left me a review for every chapter so far, which I really appreciate. So this next chapter is dedicated to you!

**xxmadlaxx: **It's interesting that you say it reminds you of an indie movie. I got the inspiration for this story from a dream I had and thought it would make an interesting original story. But then I thought about just using Resident Evil characters and making it into an AU fic instead. So like an indie movie, this story could have easily been something that no one ever got to see.

**QuincyAdams: **Thank you so much for reading, I'm really glad you like the story. It's sort of terrifying for me to put my work out here like this and it really means a lot to hear such wonderful feedback. And sorry to keep you waiting so long for updates, I'll try harder to get these chapters out quicker.

**A/N:** Chapter title from Gary Go.

**A/N2: **This chapter isn't nearly as long but I hope you find it satisfactory.

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><p>Alice was pulled awake by the sound of buzzing and subsequent vibration of an object against her thigh. She felt extremely groggy and her back was stiff. Without even opening her eyes she knew she wasn't in her own bed, and if the lump pressing into her back was any indication she was pretty certain she wasn't in a bed at all. The blonde wanted to yawn but found it difficult to take a deep breath with a soft weight resting on top of her body and something equally soft and ticklish pressing against her face. It was with curiosity more than discomfort that she finally forced her eyes opened. It took a few minutes for her eyes to adjust to the sunlight sneaking through the closed blinds and the first thing she noticed was red. Beautiful, long red hair was everywhere; under her chin, across her neck and rubbing against her cheek. And red hair could only mean one thing, Claire.<p>

The previous night came back to Alice with perfect clarity. She had taken the redhead home after they'd gotten pizza and accepted Claire's invitation to come inside. She had agreed to go out on a date with the beautiful woman after some initial instinctive resistance and they'd ended up making out on the couch for a long time. She couldn't be sure of when it had happened but they obviously must have fallen asleep sometime in the early morning which would explain their current position.

She felt the vibrations in her pocket again and realized it had been her phone that had awoken her before. Using the hand that was hanging over the side of the couch she was able to retrieve the object from her pocket and found she had missed three calls and Carlos had sent several text messages.

_Alice where are you?_

_Seriously, where are you? I'm too hungover to have to go look for you so you'd better be alright._

She sent a quick text saying she was fine and would be home in a while. Returning the phone to her pocket Alice considered the next obstacle in her path. Claire apparently was in a deep sleep, as she hadn't stirred once since Alice had awoken. She didn't want to disturb the redhead but there was no way she could get up without at least shifting the other woman quite a bit.

Before she had the opportunity to consider it further she heard the sound of a door creaking open and feet padding across the floor. A second later a pajamas clad K-Mart came into view. The younger blonde stared at the pair on the couch for a moment, a wide grin appearing on her face and she had to clap a hand over her own mouth to stop the excited squeal from escaping her lips. Noticing that Alice was awake and trapped beneath her sister the teenager let out a small giggle.

"Good morning Alice." She said in a low voice so as to not wake the redhead. "Did you sleep well?"

Alice visibly flushed under the teen's teasing. "Uh, yeah, very well. Do you think I'll be able to get up without waking her?"

"Not a chance, I'm surprised she hasn't woken up with us talking, she's usually a light sleeper. You must be really comfortable Alice." At that moment Alice wished the couch would swallow her and she would disappear. This was turning into the most awkward morning after and she and Claire hadn't even done anything last night! K-Mart seemed to take pity on her then and offered a sincere smile. "I'll leave you alone while you wake her up even though I would give anything to see the look on her face." The younger blonde then retreated quietly to her room.

Feeling slightly more at ease with the teenager gone, Alice became much more aware of the body lying over her own. Claire was attempting to burrow herself deeper into the blonde and Alice instinctually wrapped her arms around the redhead, Claire sighing at the contact. The last thing Alice wanted to do was wake the redhead, but she really needed to get home.

"Claire," she whispered gently into red hair and had to smile when she received a grunt in reply. "Claire," she tried again. "You need to get up Claire." Rubbing her hand over the soft red hair just below her chin Alice waited patiently for the other woman to stir. Whether it was due to the voice in her ear or the gentle caressing of her scalp Alice couldn't be sure but slowly Claire started to wake. When Claire yawned loudly Alice pressed a soft kiss to the top of her head and immediately felt Claire tense in her grasp.

Claire raised her head and Alice found herself gazing into deep pools of blue. The redhead looked confused, not remembering how she had ended up on the blonde asleep in her living room. When memories of the previous night returned Claire smiled. "Good morning," she drawled, fighting off another yawn.

"Morning, sorry I had to wake you but you sort of have me trapped here."

Claire blushed bright red and Alice found it adorable. "Sorry about that, I guess it's hard to get up when you're being squished." The redhead picked herself up and shuffled back so they were sitting on the couch mirroring their position of just a few hours ago. "Do you want breakfast? Coffee? Anything?" The redhead inquired, trying not to acknowledge the awkwardness of the situation.

Alice just shook her head. "Thanks, but I should probably get home and check on Carlos. Make sure he's okay after how much he drank last night." But as they stood up from the couch, Alice noticed the teenager's closed bedroom door. "Uh, K-Mart saw us while you were asleep, so I can stay if you need to talk to her and want some back up."

Claire flushed a little again but shook her head. "That's okay, anything K-Mart related I can handle."

"You sure?" Alice felt partly responsible and given K-Mart's earlier teasing she could only imagine what was in store for the redhead the moment she walked out the door.

"Yeah, it's fine." She walked Alice to the door and followed her out into the hallway, closing the apartment door behind her. The pair stood facing each other awkwardly, neither knowing what to say. "So," the redhead began, biting on her lower lip. "When will I see you again?"

Alice wanted to see Claire as soon as possible but was afraid that saying it would sound clingy and be pushing too much too soon, plus she really needed to do some serious thinking about everything that had happened. "Uh, I think I'm helping K with her history paper on Monday?" She knew it wasn't the answer the redhead had been looking for but Alice didn't know what else to say.

Claire nodded slowly. "Ok, why don't you come here instead of meeting at the diner."

Alice smirked, "You trust me enough to leave me alone with K-Mart now?"

"I have for a while, but I liked getting to see you everyday at work." The redhead admitted freely.

"I liked it too."

"So I could have asked you out weeks ago?" Claire threw up her hands in frustration and Alice reached out, grabbing both and pulling the redhead closer.

"It doesn't matter now." Alice was just happy Claire had asked at all. Her own feelings for the redhead had been escalating at an alarming rate since the night in the alley but Alice was much too protective of herself to actually do anything about it. She didn't want things to turn out like...last time, she couldn't go through that again. But standing outside the Redfield's apartment, staring at the beautiful redhead after one of the most amazing nights of her life, Alice was beginning to believe that things could be different, maybe Claire wouldn't hurt her. "So, about that date. Where are you taking me?"

"That depends, what nights are you free to go out?"

The blonde quickly went through her mental calendar. "Wednesday and Saturday are my free nights this week."

"Okay, I'll let you know the details on Monday." Claire freed her hands from Alice's grip and snaked them around the blonde's neck. "But until Monday.." she trailed off as she leaned in planting a kiss against Alice's lips.

Alice had made out with lots of girls over the years. She may not have been into dating or relationships but she still liked to have fun now and then. But as she kissed the redhead back and let her hands settle on the other woman's waist she knew that kissing anyone else had never felt this right. She mused that kissing Claire could easily become addicting and anything else would probably never be good enough anymore, and that thought alone scared the shit out of her. It was with that fear in mind that she pulled away, trying to ignore the disappointed look on Claire's face.

"Bye Claire," she said softly and received a small smile in response. She waited for the redhead to disappear back into the apartment before she made her way out the apartment building and onto the street.

Alice sat in her truck for over ten minutes, contemplating everything that had happened in the last twelve hours. To say she was confused was a bit of an understatement. She knew she liked the redhead but she was grossly unprepared for all of these feelings that came along with it. Alice slapped herself on the forehead several times, trying to knock some sense back into her stupid brain. She had broken her cardinal rule when it came to girls: never stay the night. Granted she had really only stayed for a few hours but the point was that she had fallen asleep and woken up wrapped up with the redhead and that was just unacceptable. Alice rested her head against the steering wheel but quickly pulled back at the sound of the horn blaring, startling her. "Shit," she muttered to herself and turned on the ignition and began the familiar drive home.

The blonde tried to calm herself down as she drove. There really was no reason to be freaking out, isn't this what she had wanted? Ever since that night at the hospital she had been thinking about breaking her 'no dating' rule but she hadn't actually had the balls to do anything about it, and now Claire had provided the perfect opportunity. She hadn't actually agreed to a relationship with the redhead, just one date and if it didn't go well than so be it, right? But what if it did go well? Claire had made it pretty clear how much she liked her and if the date went well the redhead would undoubtedly be expecting them to have some sort of relationship. Alice wasn't sure if she was ready for that yet. Last night she'd let her guard down and allowed Claire to get too close. She had tried to resist the redhead's advances but deep down Alice knew she didn't want to.

But now, in the cold light of day Alice was faced with the repercussions. She had a date, her first real date in over four years. And while that absolutely terrified her, there was a small recognizable part of the blonde that was also excited. Alice pushed down on the gas pedal a little harder, trying to get home as quickly as possible. She needed help if she was going to do this dating thing right and Carlos with all his romantic obsessions was probably the best person to give her advice.

* * *

><p>After parting ways with Alice in the hallway Claire stepped back inside her apartment only to find K-Mart waiting on the other side of the door.<p>

"Tell me everything!" K-Mart squealed, on the verge of exploding due to all her excitement.

Claire laughed. "Nosey much?" She stepped by the teen and walked over to the kitchen area. After a brief inner battle she decided cereal was the best course of action at the moment and went about getting her breakfast; trying to ignore the blonde who was hovering around her, desperate for answers.

"Come on Claire! You have to tell me what happened! I woke up this morning to find you two all snuggled together on the couch and we're not going to talk about it?"

Claire pulled up a stool to the kitchen counter and K-Mart stood on the opposite side, staring at her expectantly, arms crossed and foot tapping with impatience. The redhead took a few bites of her cereal before speaking again. "Alice and I have a date this week."

"Yes!" K-Mart squealed and pumped her fist in the air. "I knew you two would be a perfect match!"

"Calm down K, we haven't actually gone out yet. This might turn out to be a terrible idea, if things don't work out than there goes your tutor."

"Pshh, that's so not important right now." K-Mart bounced up and down excitedly. "So, who asked out who?"

"I did, last night and then I guess we fell asleep on the couch, it was pretty late."

"Yes, I saw. You two looked pretty cozy. Is there anything else I should know?"

"No."

The blonde pouted. "You're no fun, you know that? So where are you taking Alice for your date?"

"No idea yet. I have until Monday to think of something."

K-Mart walked around the counter to get her own breakfast started. "Well I don't recommend going to movies, that didn't work out too well for us last time."

"Thanks for the advice K." Claire huffed as she placed her own empty bowl in the sink.

"Just pick something nice, simple, and fun. You remember what fun is right Claire?"

"I know how to have fun! I had fun last night!" Claire exclaimed loudly and immediately wanted to take it back when K-Mart's eyes widened in interest. "Not _that_ kind of fun, normal fun. We went to a karaoke bar, I had a surprisingly good time, and that's all you need to know."

"_You_ sang karaoke. Oh my god, Alice must have some crazy magical powers over you for you to willingly submit yourself to that kind of embarrassment." K-Mart rubbed her chin in a mock thinking pose. "Then again, I guess she must have liked something you did for her to spend the night on our couch with you sprawled all over top of her."

"Ok! I think I am quite finished with this conversation." The redhead slowly inched herself towards her bedroom door. "If you'll excuse me, I'd like to change my clothes and then I have a phone call to make so please keep the noise down." And before K-Mart had the chance to utter another word Claire bolted into her room and slammed the door behind her, leaning against it once she was safe from her sister's inquisition.

For the first time since she awoke the redhead was finally alone with her thoughts. This certainly was not how she expected things to turn out when Carlos invited her out the other day but she couldn't be more pleased. Just thinking about Alice caused Claire to grin like an idiot and she was glad to be in the privacy of her own bedroom. After weeks of second guessing and over analysing she'd finally made her move and her and Alice were finally moving out of the friend zone. And if the kisses they shared last night were any indication, there was not a doubt in the redhead's mind that she and Alice were meant to be more than just friends.

Claire yawned loudly, but continued to grin as she remembered exactly why she was so tired. She eyed her unslept in bed and briefly considered crawling under the blankets for some much needed sleep, but decided against it. She had something to do that took priority over sleep at the moment. She only had a couple of days to try and come up with something good for her and Alice to do on their date. It had to be awesome, but nothing over the top. Claire had a pretty good idea on where to start. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her contact list, pushing the call button when she reached the correct number. The redhead had to wait several rings before a groggy voice appeared on the other end.

"Whoever this is had better have a good excuse for calling me at eight-thirty in the morning."

"Otto, it's Claire Redfield. I need a favour."

"What kind of favour?"

"What stuff do you have going on this week?" The redhead knew Otto from when she had worked at the Raccoon City arena as one of her odd jobs last year and knew it would be the best place to find a possible date option. Something simple and cheap that she and Alice could both enjoy without making Alice feel pressured by the romantic connotations of a date.

"Uh, let me think for a minute." There was silence on the other end of the line for several moments before the man started muttering to himself. "..no hockey... concerts, circus? ... Ok, there's some stars on ice show Monday, the Black Keys concert Wednesday, and Cirque du soleil on the weekend."

Claire frowned at hearing the options, there was no way she was taking Alice to see that weird circus thing. She had no idea what the Black Keys were but that seemed to be the safest bet for now. "Is the Black Keys a band?" She asked into the phone and regretted it immediately as Otto sputtered in disbelief.

"Is the Black Keys a band? Yes! And a great one at that! When was the last time you turned on a radio Claire?"

"Okay, okay. Sorry I said anything, calm down Otto." Claire rolled her eyes at her friend's overreaction, it was just music after all. "So, can you get me tickets to that concert?"

"No, it's sold out."

"Come on Otto! I know you probably have some stashed away. And you totally owe me. Remember that time I caught you sneaking backstage during the– "

"Ok fine!" Otto interrupted. "You drive a hard bargain but I guess I can score you two tickets. Will that be all for today? I'd really like to go back to sleep."

"Yeah that's it. Thanks Otto."

"No problem, you can pick them up whenever. But just so we're clear, you and I are totally even now."

"Deal." Claire agreed, and hung up the phone, tossing it onto the bed. If Otto liked the band they must be cool and she didn't have to worry about taking Alice somewhere lame. Now she only had one big problem left, what the fuck was she going to wear?

* * *

><p>Upon entering the house Alice was almost immediately met by the concerned face of Carlos.<p>

"You're finally home? I was about to call Betty and send out a search party."

"Don't be so dramatic Carlos. I'm a big girl and can take care of myself."

The dark haired man crossed his arms over his chest and scowled. "I know you didn't sleep here last night Alice, so I'm sorry if I got a little concerned."

Alice knew there was only one way to get Carlos off this big brother kick. "I was perfectly safe, but if you really must know, I was with Claire." Her explanation had the desired effect and the scowl instantly disappeared from her friend's face.

Carlos' eyes bugged out of his head. "All night?"

"It's not what you think. We went out for pizza and then I took her home. We were talking and fell asleep on the couch."

"And that's all that happened?" Carlos eyed her sceptically and Alice silently cursed him for being able to read her so well. She cleared her throat and avoided his gaze.

"We also may have made out for a bit and she's taking me out on a date next week." She spoke quickly but the words were clear enough for Carlos to understand and his eyes again widened in surprise.

"A date? You?" He seemed to be having trouble stringing his words together out of shock. "You do remember what a date is right? Do you know what you've gotten yourself into?"

"Yeah. And trust me, it was a surprise to me too." She couldn't really explain how things felt different with the redhead. "I just think that maybe it will be alright this time."

"I'm not going to lie Alice, I'm really happy for you." He grinned broadly as he pulled her under his arm and led them into the living room. "I'm just sorry it took you so long to get your shit together."

The blonde ducked out of his hold on her. "Shut up Carlos. You don't get to say 'I told you so' just yet. Claire and I haven't even gone out yet."

"Well answer me this; am I correct in that the two of you went out by yourselves for pizza and ended the night with a kiss?" Alice nodded slowly. "Well that practically sounds like a date to me. A boring date, but still. This one coming up is just making it official; so try not to screw it up."

"How do I not screw it up? You have to help me Carlos. I really want to try and make this work but there's always a voice in the back of my head wondering if this really is a good idea or if I'm just setting myself up to be let down again." Alice spoke rapidly, panic clear in her voice. Carlos gently grabbed onto her shoulders, shaking her lightly. Once she was calm again Carlos spoke.

"You already know what to do Alice. Claire likes _you_, so just be yourself like you always are and I guarantee it will be alright." His voice was reassuring and the blonde felt herself feeling much more at ease. "And while I really don't think Claire is the type of person who would want to purposely hurt you, you have to give her the benefit of the doubt and trust that she won't. Sometimes you just have to see how things play out Alice."

She nodded slowly, taking in her friend's words. It was just one date after all. And if it lead to another date, she could handle that too. She could do this, it was just spending more time with the redhead and that was something she definitely did want to do.

"You're right. Thanks Carlos." She shot him a grateful grin before backing out of the room. "I'm going to go crash for a few hours, I still have to work tonight."

"Yeah, I'm heading back to bed too. I can feel my headache coming back. I'm never drinking that much again."

The blonde chuckled softly. "I'll believe it when I don't see it."

She watched him scowl before heading towards his own bedroom. A yawn then escaped her lips and Alice realized her exhaustion could no longer be ignored and made her way towards the stairs, trying to push all thoughts but sleep from her mind.

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter will be the date. But until then drop me a review.<strong>

**Also, let me know which you would rather see first; Claire meeting Mrs. Olivera or Alice meeting Chris.**


	9. Next Girl

**Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.**

**A/N: **It didn't seem right not to use a Black Keys song for this chapter title.

**A/N2: **You guys continue to be awesome with all your reviewing, alerts and favourites. Thanks for putting up with my inconsistent updating. I don't have a good excuse for why it took so long so I'm just going to say sorry for the wait.

**A/N3: **I also just want to clear something up. I fully intend to have both Alice meeting Chris and Claire meeting Mrs. Olivera, I just wanted your input on which one you'd like to see first. It was never an either/or situation. Anyway, I've counted all your votes from reviews and private messages, but you'll have to wait and see the results.

* * *

><p>Claire bounded up the stairs of the apartment building excitedly, a bounce in each one of her many steps. Her enthusiasm over the day's events ready to spill forth the moment she set foot inside her home. With the door only a few steps away the redhead came to an abrupt halt in the hallway. She checked the time on her watch and realized that K-Mart was probably not alone inside the apartment. Alice had mentioned she'd be helping the younger blonde today and Claire remembered inviting her to come over for the tutoring session instead of going to the diner. The redhead quickly fixed her hair and smoothed out her clothing as best she could before letting herself into the apartment.<p>

Blue eyes scanned the open space and easily spotted her two favourite blondes sitting on opposing ends of the kitchen table. K-Mart was writing furiously and Alice looked to be engrossed by the book she was reading. It was a sight Claire wouldn't mind coming home to on a regular basis and she silently prayed that her date with Alice that week would be everything she hoped it would be.

Neither Alice nor K-Mart seemed to notice her arrival so Claire stepped further into the room, depositing her jacket on its usual hook by the door. After a few steps Alice looked up from her book and upon spotting the redhead offered a small grin which Claire eagerly returned. "How's it going in here?"

K-Mart jumped in her seat and the redhead took some delight in startling her sister. "Claire you're home!" The teenager than frowned. "Why are you home? You don't normally finish at the diner this early. And why are you all dirty? Oh my God did you get mugged again?"

"No, I didn't get mugged," Claire rolled her eyes. She then looked down and properly examined herself, noticing for the first time that afternoon the grease still on her hands, running up her arms and the numerous black stains on her t-shirt. In all her excitement she hadn't realized that she undoubtedly looked like shit after her day's activities and flushed at the thought of Alice seeing her at less than her best. The redhead peeled off her ruined shirt, leaving her in only a black tank top and jeans. "I wasn't at the diner today K, and if I can help it I'm never going back there again."

"What? Why not? You didn't get fired did you?"

"No, nothing like that K. I got a better job today. Something with better hours, better pay and a hell of a lot more fun."

"You called Chase?" Alice inquired.

Claire nodded. "Yeah. He's a great guy. He told me to come in this morning for an 'informal job interview' and when I get there he put me right to work. Pointed to a car in the garage, told me to find the problem and fix it as fast as I could. When I finished he hired me on the spot."

"That's awesome Claire!" K-Mart's initial concerns vanished and a wide smile now appeared on her face. "I know you never liked working at that stupid diner."

"You're right about that. Now I hope you haven't eaten yet K, cause we are going out to celebrate."

K-Mart instantly grew more excited. "Where are we going?"

"You pick."

The teenager leant across the table whispering to the older blonde in a voice still loud enough for Claire to hear. "She must be really happy if she's letting me pick and it's her celebration."

"Five seconds K," the redhead warned.

"Big Boy!" K-Mart burst out.

"Seriously? That place is disgusting." Claire's protest however was short lived as she easily caved the minute K-Mart started to pout. "Fine. Big Boy it is." The redhead then glanced over at Alice. "You're coming too right?"

"Are you just asking because you want me to drive?"

Claire frowned for the first time that day. "No."

"I'm just kidding. Of course I'll go. Big Boy is my favourite." She smirked at the younger blonde and the two exchanged a high five.

Claire simply rolled her eyes. "How did I end up surrounded by people who love greasy food?" She then walked over to the bathroom door. "I'm going to take a quick shower before we go, so finish up whatever you guys were working on."

As she was reaching for the door knob she felt eyes on the back of her head. Turning around she caught Alice watching her and when their eyes locked the blonde smiled sheepishly at being caught staring. Claire made sure K-Mart was still packing up her things and motioned for Alice to join her across the room. Alice looked a little confused by the request but nonetheless left the teenager at the table and moved to join the redhead by the door.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, I just forgot to do something earlier." Claire loved the dopey look on Alice's face as the blonde became more confused but quickly answered the unspoken question by leaning over and pressing their lips together in a quick kiss. "That was ok right?" She asked, pulling away after a few seconds.

Alice offered a reassuring smile. "Absolutely."

Claire returned the grin before leaving the blonde and entering the bathroom. She was almost one hundred percent certain the day could not possibly get any better.

* * *

><p>The redhead had been pacing the living room anxiously for the past half hour. It was Wednesday night, the day she was taking Alice out on their first official date. Claire didn't want the other woman to know where they were going and had only instructed to dress casual and meet at her apartment at 7:00pm. She and K-Mart only lived a few blocks away from the arena so Claire didn't need to feel awkward about asking Alice to drive them on the date <em>she <em>was suppose to be in charge of.

It was 6:50pm and Claire, after some unwanted fashion advice from K-Mart had been ready for almost an hour. And despite the teenager's best attempt to distract her, Claire's nerves had gotten the best of her and she was now slowly burning a hole in the floor with her constant pacing.

"Why are you so nervous Claire? You see Alice all the time." K-Mart spared a glance up from her math textbook to question her sister.

"It's just different this time K. There are certain, er... expectations that come with a date."

"Like what?"

"There has to be more," Claire explained. "The whole point of a date is to establish if two people can be more than just friends."

"Are you seriously worried about that Claire? You and Alice always look like you're about to pounce each other and I'm pretty sure that's not something friends do."

The redhead flushed vibrantly, more than a little embarrassed that K-Mart had picked up on the sexual tension. She cleared her throat loudly causing K-Mart to smirk, relishing in her sister's discomfort. "I just don't want to screw things up K. I feel like I got lucky getting her to agree to this in the first place. If things aren't perfect she'll think it was all just a big mistake."

"Is that what you think?" K-Mart asked.

Claire sighed but answered without hesitation. "No. Even if tonight is a big disaster I know I'll still want to see her again."

"Then that's all you have to convince Alice of. Things don't need to be perfect Claire, it's just got to mean something."

"When did you get so smart?" Claire grinned.

"You're forgetting, I have an excellent tutor." The teenager was quiet for a few minutes as Claire began pacing again. "You know, I can always go sleep over at Angie's if you want some privacy after the concert tonight."

Claire halted, giving K-Mart a mortified expression. "What? No!" She really didn't want K-Mart to be thinking about her and Alice doing _that_. "It's a school night for you K, that means in bed by 11pm not staying up all night gossiping with Angie."

"I was just thinking..."

"I _know_ what you were thinking." Claire interrupted. "And please don't ever think that again. Besides, I am not the type to put out on a first date."

K-Mart threw up her hands in defeat. "Ok, sorry. I just don't want to be an obstacle standing in the way of your budding romance with Alice."

"You're not in the way K-Mart. Without you I doubt any of this would even be happening." Claire moved across the room to join her sister on the couch. "Besides, Alice knows that we're a package deal. She understands that you are my number one priority, she actually was considerate of the effect of us dating having on you. And even though I think you're taking a bit too much interest in my love life right now, I don't need you worrying about being in the way."

K-Mart's response was cut off by the sound of knocking on the apartment door. The sisters shared a look with the teen giving the redhead an encouraging smile before nodding towards the door.

"Go have fun Claire, you deserve it."

Claire grinned for a second before turning serious. "You better be in bed when I get home, no waiting up."

The young blonde just waved off the warning as Claire walked over to the door. She took a deep breath, composing herself before opening the apartment door to find a nervous looking Alice waiting in the hallway.

The redhead stepped out into the hall, closing the door silently behind her. "Hi." The word came out small and Claire cursed herself for feeling so nervous. She saw Alice nearly everyday and she was already acting like this was her first date ever.

"Hey," Alice replied, a small smile playing at her lips. "You look great."

"Oh, thanks." Claire looked down at her black pants and red vest over a white tank top, not expecting the compliment.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going, or do I have to guess?"

Feeling much more at ease now, Claire took a hold of one of Alice's hands and began to pull her back down the hallway. "I'll let you figure it out when we get there. It's only a few blocks away." The redhead grinned when Alice interlaced their fingers as they walked down the three flights of stairs in her building and out into the unusually warm April weather. Claire led them towards the arena and when it was in sight a lot more people came into view, approaching the same building from all sides.

"Is that where we're going?" Alice asked and the redhead thought the other woman sounded a little hopeful.

"Yeah, I got us tickets to the concert tonight. The Black Chords or something."

"The Black Keys? You got tickets to the concert tonight?"

Claire nodded. "Is that okay?"

"Fuck yes it's okay. That band is awesome! I can't believe this is where we're going." It was now Alice who led the redhead towards the arena and Claire was more than a little shocked, having never before seen the blonde look so excited or enthusiastic about anything. It was a side of Alice she hoped to see more often and Claire gave herself a mental pat on the back for unintentionally picking the perfect date activity.

Loud. That was the only way to describe it. It was probably the loudest thing Claire had ever heard in her whole life. The bass, the drums, the crowd screaming, the lead singer wailing; the redhead could feel it all thudding in her chest. It was also dark, the only real source of light directed on the stage. A flashlight in her face drew her attention to the usher standing in front of them. Wordlessly Claire showed the woman their tickets and reached back for Alice's hand so they didn't get separated as they were shown to their seats.

Once seated, Claire noticed that Otto actually managed to score them some decent seats. Most of the seats around the pair were already filled and there were some people up and dancing while others were content to bob their heads as the opening band on stage played. The redhead's people watching was soon distracted though by the feeling of hot breath tickling her ear as Alice leaned in extremely close in order to be heard over the loud music.

"I still can't believe you got tickets for this. It's been sold out for months."

Claire smirked. "Well, L.J isn't the only one with connections." The blonde nodded for Claire to continue. "I use to work here, and one of my coworkers owed me a favour."

"I'm glad you took this as your opportunity to cash in that favour. The Black Keys are one of my favourite bands." The blonde then motioned to the stage. "These guys are pretty good too, what band is it?"

"Cage the Elephant," Claire replied with a shrug. "As you know, these days my musical exploration doesn't get much more in-depth than Justin Bieber, so it's good to hear some real music for a change."

When Cage the Elephant finished their set both Claire and Alice enthusiastically joined the crowd in cheers until the lights came up. During the break between bands the pair easily fell back into conversation.

"So how's the new job?" Alice asked with genuine interest.

"It's great. I love the work and getting home at a decent hour everyday is something I'll never take for granted again. And even though you'd think I'd get sick of her, it's been nice getting to spend more time with K-Mart."

Alice just shook her head as she smiled. "How is K-Mart?" The blonde hadn't seen the teenager the last two days. K-Mart's marks had made noticeable improvements in the last few weeks and therefore the daily tutoring was no longer necessary.

"She's good. I think she's sitting at home with her fingers crossed that I don't blow this date tonight so you'll have a reason to come around more often for something other than to help her with homework."

Alice grinned. "Well if it helps, you're definitely not blowing it so far."

Claire scoffed. "Of course I'm not. I'm an excellent date." Her smugness caused Alice's grin to widen and Claire hoped the other woman couldn't see the insecurities hiding beneath the facade. She was still worried this whole evening might go horribly wrong and she was trying her best to keep her cool.

It was at that moment the lights dimmed again and a spot focussed on the stage as the Black Keys made their arrival. The crowd went completely crazy, everyone up and out of their seats, cheering emphatically. As Claire and Alice stood side by side as the first song started, the redhead felt a gentle nudging at her fingertips. She glanced over at the blonde but Alice had her eyes firmly fixed on the stage, though Claire could make out the small smile on the other woman's face. Turning back to face the band Claire gently nudged back at the questing fingers until she and Alice were holding hands, their fingers interlaced. The redhead couldn't stop her own grin from emerging at the feeling of how well their hands always seemed to fit together; and as Alice's thumb rubbed along the back of her hand, Claire knew the other woman felt it too.

About an hour into the band's performance, Alice grew noticeably more excited as another song started.

"This one is my favourite." The blonde confessed and for maybe the fourth or fifth time that evening she sang along.

_The look of the cake_

_It ain't always the taste_

_My ex girl she had_

_Such a beautiful face_

_I wanted love_

_But not for myself_

_But for the girl_

_So she could love herself_

_My next girl_

_Will be nothing like my ex girl_

_I made mistakes back then_

_I'll never do it again_

_With my next girl_

_She'll be nothing like my ex girl_

_That was a painful dance_

_Now I got a second chance_

Glancing over at her companion, the redhead noted that Alice seemed much more engaged with the concert than she had all night. Claire had never seen the blonde so animated before and she was somewhat jealous that a mere song could easily bring the usually guarded woman so much Claire pushed her sour feelings aside, not wanting to miss even a second of this carefree version of Alice, not knowing when it would appear again.

_A beautiful face_

_And a wicked way_

_And I'm paying for her_

_Beautiful face every day_

_All that work_

_Over so much time If I think too hard_

_I might lose my mind_

_My next girl_

_Will be nothing like my ex girl_

_I made mistakes back then_

_I'll never do it again_

_With my next girl_

_She'll be nothing like my ex girl_

_That was a painful dance_

_Now I got a second chance_

It was fairly soon after that the band finished it's set and after a brief encore the concert was over and people were filing out of the arena. Alice and Claire walked hand in hand, following the current of the crowd out into the brisk night air. They idly began walking away from the venue, but in the opposite direction of the redhead's apartment, neither woman ready to let the evening come to a close.

"I know it's kind of late, but do you want to go get something to eat?" Claire asked, wanting a plan to get them off the street. Even though she felt safe with Alice, she still wasn't comfortable with wandering around the city this late at night.

"Sure," Alice agreed instantly. "Wherever you want to go is fine."

The pair ended up at a corner café that was open late. The two women shared a slice of apple pie while each nursed a cup of coffee as they sat close together at a small circular table in the centre of the room. There were a few other couples occupying the café but no one was paying them any attention, not that either woman noticed as they were too occupied with each other.

"So, I know I enjoyed the concert" Alice stated, leaning back in the chair and leaving Claire the last bite of pie. "What did you think?"

"It was good. I really liked the opening band and the song with the whistling." Claire finished the pie and also leaned back in her chair. "I don't know if it's good idea for me to admit this, but I haven't had a lot a free time the last few years to just go out and have fun so we could have seen some lame magic show and I'd still probably have enjoyed it."

Alice's eyes widened in mock surprise. "You don't like magic?"

"Magic is for children." Claire's sceptic smile caused the blonde to grin.

"Agreed. So what do you like? I mean besides cars and my fabulous artwork," Claire rolled her eyes; "What would you like to do if you had the free time?"

The redhead was forced to think long and hard before answering. She'd never really thought about it before. The last few years her sole focus had really been on K-Mart. She'd taken shitty jobs and lived a hectic schedule just so they could make ends meet. Their parents had by no means been wealthy, in fact all the money the Redfield siblings had accumulated from selling the house in Nevada had been barely enough to cover the cost of the funeral and settle all their parents debts and the rest had been spent on the move to Raccoon City.

Claire knew she was by no means a selfless person, she had been completely self-centred in the last few years before her parent's death. She'd moved out right after highschool, wanting nothing more than to be independent; it was hard being the middle child after all. Claire hadn't gone home for visits as much as her mother and K-Mart wanted, she had been too involved in her own life. And then very late one night she got the phone call that changed her life forever. But even then, there had never been one single doubt in her mind about taking on the parental responsibilities for her K-Mart even though she barely considered herself an adult at the time. And since then, many of her own interests had fallen to the backburner.

"I'm not sure," she finally answered. "I mean, I'm not the same person I was three years ago. So the things I liked to do back then don't really mesh with who I am now." Claire avoided the blonde's eyes as she spoke. "I moved away from home as soon as I could, I was alway sort of jealous about how much my parents were proud of Chris and how much they spoiled K-Mart for being the youngest. It's stupid but at the time I thought being independent meant doing whatever I wanted. So I visited home less and less and wasted so much time I could have spent with them." Claire felt Alice lay a hand over top of hers on the table, a silent pleading for the redhead to look at her. When she finally did she found Alice staring at her with a mixture of concern and understanding.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

Claire shook her head. "You didn't. It's just that whenever I think about doing things for myself I feel sort of guilty. Being self-centred caused me to miss the last few years my parents were alive and I don't want to do that with K-Mart too. So I let her pick the movies we watch, the places we eat and the furniture we have. And it's why I work hard so we can live in a relatively safe neighbourhood so I can send her to a decent school." The redhead then turned her hand over so she and Alice were clasping hands on the table. "And I never let myself really be open to dating anyone. K-Mart thinks I'm smothering her but I just couldn't let the things I wanted get in the way of taking care of her the best I can."

"So why are you and I sitting here, holding hands on a date?" The blonde asked with a coy smile making Claire relax and return the grin.

She gave Alice's hand a firm squeeze. "Because I feel drawn to you in ways I can't understand for reasons I cannot explain. Because being with you doesn't feel like I'm being selfish for spending time away from K-Mart. It may take me some time to figure out some new hobbies, but I do know that I want to spend as much of my free time with you as I can. As long as that's alright with you of course."

Alice's smile widened, revealing her perfectly white teeth. "I think I would like that too." And she leaned across the short distance between them, kissing the redhead with assurance. The blonde pulled back after a few seconds, mindful they were in a public place. "Come on, let's get out of here." She stood and pulled Claire out of her chair, their hands firmly entwined as they exited the restaurant.

The pair strolled hand in hand up the street, enjoying the comfortable silence between them. Claire was so use to K-Mart's incessant need to fill every quiet moment with talking or music and she liked the calmness Alice personified with her silence. Every now and then the blonde would tug her a little closer or run her thumb along the back of Claire's hand, or just spare her a quick glance and Claire loved every unspoken action reflecting that Alice was still thinking about her despite their lack of conversation.

The walk back to her apartment was over much too soon for Claire's liking and she didn't want the date to end. She had to keep reminding herself that this was only a first date, and the end of the night would only mean the beginning of their relationship. Of course, that was only if the blonde enjoyed the evening as much as she had, but Claire was pretty confident about her chances.

"So," she began awkwardly breaking the long silence as they stood on the front stoop of the apartment building. "I, uh, had a really great time tonight." Claire was fumbling all over her words but Alice didn't seem to mind, the blonde waiting patiently for Claire to find her voice. "Would it be something you would want to do again?"

She waited anxiously for Alice to reply and the blonde seemed to take a long time in making up her mind. "On one condition," the redhead nodded for her to continue. "Next time, _I _get to plan the date."

Claire breathed a sigh of relief. "Deal," she immediately agreed and then gave a cocky smirk. "Although good luck topping this, I unknowingly got us tickets to one of your favourite bands" she boasted. "How do you plan on stepping up?"

"Please," Alice scoffed. "Who said I would want to even try topping this? But I bet I could if I wanted to. You forget, I have a secret weapon."

"Oh yeah?"

Alice nodded. "K-Mart." She answered simply. "She knows you better than anyone, and if I asked her, I bet she would tell me anything about you that I wanted to know, and then some."

"You wouldn't dare." The last thing the redhead wanted was her little sister blabbing to Alice all of her secrets.

"Hmm," Alice hummed, not really replying to the Claire's look of dread. The facade didn't last though and the blonde chuckled slightly. "You're right, I wouldn't." Taking a step closer, Alice brought a hand up to Claire's face, gently brushing away the stray red locks caught in the breeze. "If I win your heart Claire, it won't be because someone wrote me a cheat sheet. I want to learn the things you like and find out the things you hate first hand. If I brought you roses only to find out you like lilies, I'd never make that mistake again." Alice cupped her cheek while her other hand played with their still tangled fingers. "I can't believe you were so worried to ask me on a second date," the blonde all but whispered. "I had the best time tonight. You really are an excellent date Claire" she smirked, quoting the redhead's earlier words. "And I can't wait to do it again."

Claire didn't need any more incentive to lean forward and as great as the rest of the date had been, Claire knew the good night kiss was what she would remember the most about the night. Her passion and the blonde's steadiness equated to a balance between rushed and relaxed, heat and tenderness. The hand cupping her cheek moved to thread through red hair. Claire had never felt lighter and thought she might actually float away had Alice not been there acting as anchor.

Any further thoughts were pushed from her mind at the blonde's tentative request for entry, her tongue searching the edge of Claire's lips. Claire immediately granted the other woman access as the pair stood kissing outside her building blissfully unaware of the world around them.

It ended all too soon for the redhead's liking and Claire groaned in frustration when Alice reluctantly pulled away from the kiss.

"I hate lilies." Claire blurted out, trapped in a daze following the separation of their lips.

Alice smiled adoringly. "Noted." She took an extra step back, creating far too big a distance than either woman wanted between them, despite their still tightly clasped hands. "I'll call you tomorrow. Goodnight Claire."

"Night Alice, drive safe." Claire stood rooted in spot, making no effort to move forcing the blonde to be the first to walk away.

* * *

><p>Alice knew what the redhead was doing, it was sort of evil in a way. She had been the first one to end the kiss and now Claire was forcing her to be the first one to walk away. She forced herself another step backwards until they were separated enough to cause their hands to slip out of each other's grasp. With a final smile Alice turned around and headed towards her truck parked a little further down the street. And as much as she wanted to, the blonde didn't look back to see if the redhead was still there. She knew Claire hadn't gone inside yet, she could feel the other woman's eyes staring at her retreating form and in this silent test of wills between them Alice was determined to win.<p>

She had been a little too honest with her words before the kiss and Alice cursed herself for not holding back as much as she had planned. There was just something about Claire she couldn't deny. When the redhead had become all shy and unsure at the end of their date all Alice wanted to do was reassure her that she had a good time and wanted to do it again. And then she had started spouting stuff about winning her heart. That was way too much, way to soon for the blonde's liking; yet she had been the one to say it so deep down there must be some truth to the words.

Alice had just reached her vehicle when she heard it, the sound of incoming footsteps. Judging by the sound she guessed the person was running. She turned around just in time to catch the redhead as Alice was slammed into the side of her own truck by the shear force of Claire's body. Before she could open her mouth to speak it was covered by Claire's lips again. The blue eyed woman was kissing her with abandon and Alice did not hesitate to respond. She didn't know what had sparked her into action but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying it. She wanted Claire, maybe more than she'd ever wanted a woman before in her life but despite the frenzy of their embrace, Alice was still acutely aware of their position outside for all the world to see.

Claire had Alice pretty much pinned against the truck but Alice really didn't mind. Assertive-Claire was such a turn on and the kiss was growing more heated by the second. It took all of Alice's control to keep her hands to herself, forcing her palms against the cool metal of the passenger door instead of seeking out the warm skin she knew was just waiting to be touched under that red vest and tank top.

The redhead was not being nearly as conscientious as she pressed herself flush against the blonde, one hand on Alice's waist while the other gripped the back of her head. Her hold on the blonde only lessened when they were forced to separate for air.

"Shit," Claire breathed, at a loss for words.

"I should walk away more often if that's the response it'll get me." Alice half joked.

The redhead pulled Alice off the vehicle and wrapped her arms around her. The blonde followed suit and realized a moment later they were sharing their first hug. It was nice, and their bodies moulded together perfectly as if each one was made solely for the purpose of fitting with the other. The intimacy of it all was almost too much for the blonde. She didn't want to rush things with the redhead. Claire deserved a lot better than being another notch on Alice's belt and she didn't want them to give into their mutual desire until she was sure that it meant something. After only one date, Alice knew she wanted more than just sex from Claire and it scared the shit out of her.

Alice placed kiss into soft red hair as she slowly rubbed Claire's back. They stayed in that position for a bit, neither one willing to let go. And it was only when Alice heard the other woman yawn that she forced them to disentangle.

"Go inside and get some sleep Claire." Alice gently instructed. "I'll call you so we can make arrangements for the awesome date I'm going to plan." Her boasting causing Claire to scoff.

"I still don't think you can top this, but I'm going to love getting to watch you try." She gave Alice a final peck on the lips and slowly walked backwards back up to her apartment. "Goodnight Alice." The blonde waved and waited for Claire to disappear inside the building before rounding her truck and climbing inside.

It may have only been a first date but it was getting harder and harder for Alice to walk away.


	10. Mr Blue Sky

**Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil.**

**A/N:** So I am a huge jackass for not updating recently, but I managed to get my shit together after someone threatened to hunt me down. The good news is that during the month or so it took me to update this I did a lot of writing for this story. The bad news is that all the stuff I wrote was not for the chapter that needed to come next. I got really inspired writing for an upcoming story arc with Alice instead of focussing on this chapter. Anyway, that is why the update took so long. But that also means that when we do get to that part of the story, the chapter can be posted right away.

**A/N2: **Chapter title song is by Electric Lights Orchestra.

**A/N3:** This one is mostly filler but it lays the groundwork for upcoming chapters.

* * *

><p>"Ahh!" Claire startled awake at the feeling of a large and heavy lump landing on top of her. Eyes darted open to see a grinning K-Mart sprawled over her. "What the hell K?" Claire groaned as she shoved her sister aside almost causing the girl to topple off the bed.<p>

Unfazed, K-Mart maintained her position and looked at the redhead sheepishly. "Sorry, I just wanted you to wake up. I want to hear about your date!"

The redhead glanced at her beside clock and again. "At six thirty in the morning K-Mart? Get out of here and let me sleep!"

"Not until you tell me about your date with Alice." K-Mart whined, pulling the sheet off her sister.

Claire just rolled away from the blonde, tucking her knees up to her chest at the cold and cursing herself for wearing shorts to bed. K-Mart then tried shaking the older Redfield but the redhead continued to ignore her.

"Please Claire," the teen almost begged and Claire didn't need to open her eyes to know K-Mart was pouting.

"Fine!" Claire huffed as she sat up, knowing sleep was a lost cause until K-Mart was appeased. The teenager clapped her enthusiasm and sat up straighter, sitting cross legged on the bed waiting to hear the story.

"Okay, so it turns out the concert we went to was one of Alice's favourite bands."

"Score one for Claire!" K-Mart cheered, fist pumping the air.

"You have to shut up, or I won't tell you anything." The redhead warned and K-Mart quickly nodded, letting her hand drop back to the bed.

"So we go to the concert and it was pretty good, then we went to this nice little café for coffee and had a really nice talk. And then we came back here and Alice went home."

"That's it? Claire don't you dare deny me the details. I know you, and there's no way you let Alice leave with only like a hug or something. Come on Claire, you can tell me. Does Alice's kiss make you weak in the knees? Butterflies in you stomach?"

Claire stared blankly at the girl. "What do you think this is K, a fairytale?" She tried to act nonchalant but everything her sister said was true. Claire couldn't even describe the way it felt when she was with Alice. It was like she was lighter than air, threatened to float away at any second but still grounded by her undeniable pull towards the blonde woman.

K-Mart shrugged. "Maybe Alice is your fairytale." Claire didn't reply to that. "Well, can you at least tell me that you two are going out again?"

The redhead grinned brightly for the first time that morning. "Yep," she said with pride. "Alice wants to plan our second date."

"That's great Claire! I'm really happy for you. You deserve someone nice who cares about you. You take such good care of me and I want someone who can do that for you too."

"Don't get too excited K. Alice and I are not even official or anything. I don't think she's ready for that yet." The truth was she didn't know if she was ready yet either, but Claire knew if their second date was anywhere as good as the first than she would be ready soon. Shoving those thoughts to the back of her mind for the present, Claire nudged her sister with her foot. "Come on K, let's get some breakfast now that I'm up."

"Can we have pancakes?" The blonde asked hopefully.

"Don't push your luck."

As Claire rode the bus on her way to the garage for work she was somewhat surprised to receive a text message from Betty.

_How was the date? - B_

_Good enough to get me a second date. _Claire quickly responded and only a few moments later got a reply.

_I need details! Meet 4 lunch? My treat._

The redhead could feel a headache coming on at the thought of having to deal with more questions about her budding relationship with Alice but still agreed to meet up and the two women were able to hash out the detailsbefore the bus reached Claire's stop.

Her new job at the garage wasn't as close to home as the diner, but it was a sacrifice Claire was more than happy to make for getting to do something she loved and not have to put in twelve hour days just to live pay check to pay check. And even though it was still only her first week working for Chase, she was enjoying it immensely. There had been a little hazing from the other guys who worked there the first day but after it became clear that she knew a thing or two about cars they were quick to back off.

The redhead was startled from her musings at the feeling of a rag hitting her in the face. She ripped off the offending object and glared at its owner. A man with short black hair was standing a few feet away, grinning broadly and trying not to laugh.

"Morning Redfield,"he greeted.

"J.D I'm warning you right now, if you fuck up my good mood I will end you." She was only half joking. J.D had been one of the few who hadn't scoffed at the sight of a woman working in the garage and the two were quickly becoming friends, even though the man had his occasional cocky moments.

He laughed, grin never faltering. "If this is you in a good mood I'd hate to see you pissed off." He sauntered over as she pulled her metallic grey jumpsuit over her street clothes. "What's managed to put you in such a good mood anyway? I mean besides getting to see me," Claire rolled her eyes as she tied her hair back. "You can tell me Redfield, did you have a hot date last night or something?"

"As a matter of fact I did." Claire replied, a smile instantly forming at the thought of Alice.

J.D waited to hear more but the redhead didn't elaborate. "Well? Out with it woman! Tell your new buddy J.D all about Mr. Perfect."

"There is no 'Mr. Perfect,' I prefer the fairer sex."

The dark haired man's eyes widened comically and Claire didn't think his grin could get any bigger, looking like a child who'd found out Christmas had come early. "Now you have to give me the details!"

Claire scowled at her friend "No way, I'm not going to illustrate some perverted fantasy for you. Besides it was only a first date and I'm not that kind of girl."

The man pouted. "At least tell me about her, she's hot right?"

Claire smirked. "The hottest. Messy blonde hair, green eyes, pale skin..."

"Hot body?" J.D offered hopefully and Claire smacked him playfully on the arm.

"That, is none of your business."

He put up his hands in surrender. "Okay!" Then his eyes lit up again. "We should double date sometime. My girlfriend will be in town for a visit in a couple of weeks and I want to make sure she has a good time. Plus, that way I can also check out your girl and make sure she's good enough for you. And the whole thing will be my treat," he tacked on, trying to get Claire to agree.

"Maybe," the redhead considered the offer."I would like to meet the woman who willingly puts up with you, even if its only in a long distance relationship" she teased. "Let me know when and I'll ask Alice."

"Alice eh? Sounds hot." He then ducked out of reach of her swinging arm to avoid getting hit again before the pair went their separate ways to start work.

The rest of the morning passed quickly and soon Claire found herself walking through the door of the small restaurant where she and Betty had agreed to meet. She spotted the dark haired woman easily and returned the hug she received in greeting upon reaching the table Betty was occupying.

"Hey Claire!" Betty's grin was infectious and Claire couldn't keep her own smile at bay as she was ushered into her seat. "Tell me everything!" The nurse wasted no time diving in before Claire was even seated.

"Why don't you ask Alice?"

"Because that woman is a vault when it comes to information, and I wanted to ask you anyway." She admitted. "Alice is a good friend, but she's too quiet sometimes." Betty rolled her eyes dramatically. "You, at least answer my questions."

Claire grinned involuntarily, she couldn't help but like Betty and felt like they were well on their way to being good friends. "Well, we're going out again so that's a good thing. I had a great time last night, and I think Alice did too. I really like her Betty." Claire admitted the last part softly, almost afraid that saying it aloud would put a jinx on the whole thing.

Betty nodded. "She really likes you too. Trust me, if she didn't there never would have even been a first date." She leaned back in her seat, mulling it over. "You know, I've been trying to set Alice up for over a year but she never goes for it. You must be something special Claire to get her to change her mind."

Claire frowned a little. "She tried to turn me down at first, but after some careful...convincing she agreed to go out with me."

The nurse grinned knowingly."And did you 'convince' her with words or with your lips?" She teased.

The redhead pretended to be offended at the accusation. "I will never reveal my methods of persuasion."She was then distracted by a familiar beeping coming from the phone in her pocket.

"Ooh, who's that? Your girlfriend?" Betty teased as the redhead retrieved the phone.

"Alice is not my girlfriend," Claire replied half-heartedly, wishing it was in fact true. "But I did get a text from her." She smiled at seeing the blonde's name on the screen.

_How's your day going?_

Claire looked across the table, not wanting to seem rude but Betty eagerly motioned for her to reply.

_Good, having lunch with Betty._

Less than thirty seconds later she received Alice's reply.

_My sympathies, hope she's not giving you the full inquisition._

Claire chuckled and shared the text with Betty upon seeing her look of confusion. The nurse huffed atthe message and began digging through her purse until she pulled out her own cell phone. The redhead wasn't sure what she was up to but had a sneaking suspicion as she watched Betty press a few buttons before bringing the device up to her ear, a half smirk on her face.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Betty began speaking rapidly, not even greeting her friend on the other end of the line. "Alice, I resent that. Claire and I are simply having a friendly lunch, something you wouldn't know anything about. I can't believe you think I'm nosey enough to lure Claire out on the promise of food only to ambush her with questions. As if I'm that concerned with your love life." Betty winked across the table as she berated Alice on the phone, not giving the blonde a chance to speak. "And even if your date were to casually come up in conversation, what would be the big deal? Not everyone is as socially inept as you, wanting to hide everything about themselves. Hmm?" Betty finally stopped speaking and Claire wondered what Alice was saying on the end of the conversation. "Okay, see you later." Betty then ended the call and put her phone away. "What?" She asked when she noticed Claire's incredulous look.

"What the hell was all of that? Some of the stuff you said was a little harsh Betty."

The nurse waved it off. "Trust me, that was nothing. Alice knows I didn't mean it, in fact, the meaner I am the funnier she thinks it is."

Claire shook her head, not at all understanding the weird behaviour her friends had with each other. "What did she say to you?" Claire asked, interested in how the blonde would respond to the verbal assault.

"She said if that was the best I could do than I should take a creative writing class." Betty simply rolled her eyes. "Oh, and she wanted me to tell you to call her later when I'm not around to eavesdrop."And without further comment Betty dropped the conversation completely, picking up her previously ignored menu and flipping through it. "I hear they have good sandwiches here."

The redhead had never known anyone who could jump from topic to topic as quickly as Betty. But she liked the other woman so she was willing to go with it. "Is that what you're getting?"

"Hell no, I hate sandwiches."Betty replied and Claire had to stop herself from face palming.

* * *

><p>Alice only just could make out the sound of her phone ringing over the obnoxious noise of the lawn mower she was pushing. She cut the engine and grinned broadly when Claire's name appeared on the screen. Abandoning the lawn mower altogether, Alice moved to lean against a tree a few feet away as she answered the phone.<p>

"Hey Claire," she greeted happily. "How was lunch with Betty?"

"Good, she dropped her interrogation after her little chat with you." The blonde shook her head in amusement at the memory of her short conversation with the nurse. "What are you doing? I'm not catching you at a bad time am I?"

"No, I'm at my mother's house cutting the grass. Her front yard turns into a forest if left alone for a week."

"That's sweet of you to go out there and help her out."

Alice shrugged even though the redhead couldn't see the action. "I don't mind doing it. She's done so much for me over the years, it really is the least I can do." Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I'm glad you called. I wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

Even though she knew Claire was going to say yes, Alice was still nervous."Do you want to go out on Saturday?" The blonde gave herself a mental pat on the back for not stumbling over the words.

"Of course, we need to see if your date can stack up next to mine after all." The redhead's cheekiness did not go over Alice. "Are you going to tell me where we're going?"

"Nope, just dress casual and I'll pick you up at 8:00pm."

"Fair enough..." Anything else Claire said was drowned out by the voice booming across the yard.

"Alice, who are you talking to? I thought you were going to mow the lawn!"

"Sorry Claire," she spoke quickly into the phone. "Could you hang on a second? I just need to go remind my mother that I'm doing this for free so she should probably stop yelling at me." Alice covered the mouth piece as she stalked across the lawn. "Mom, stop yelling. I'm almost done."

"Who are you talking to?"

"Claire." She replied, instantly regretting it as Elizabeth's eyes lit up. The older woman held out her hand for the phone but Alice took a step back. "No way. You are not talking to her. We've only been on one date and I don't want you scaring her off."

"Pssh. Give me the phone Alice, I just want to say hi to your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Well, you better get to work on that, young lady. The good ones are never available for long."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Watch that sarcasm, now let me have the phone."

The combination of her mother's impatient stare and the fact that Claire was still hanging on the other end of the phone forced Alice to concede. She quickly brought the cell up to her mouth before it was snatched away. "I apologize in advance for whatever is about to happen."

The blonde was then forced to stand and watch in horror as the phone was extracted from her hands and her mother began speaking to the redhead on the other side.

"Hello? Is this Claire? Hi, my name is Elizabeth, I'm Alice and Carlos' mother. How are you dear?" The woman waited for the redhead to reply before continuing. "So I understand that you're dating my daughter–" It was at that moment Alice attempted to grab the phone back but her mother evaded her, surprisingly still agile for a woman her age. "And I'm sure you know how much Alice likes to talk, so I obviously know very little about you." Alice knew where this was going and again tried to motion for Elizabeth to hand back the phone but was once again ignored."You should come over for diner so we can meet. How about next weekend?" She paused, and Alice prayed the redhead was coming up with a believable excuse not to go. "Oh, well bring her along too. It would be really great to meet the woman who's making my Alice so happy." The blonde's mouth opened but no words came out as she grew more flustered at every sentence coming out of her mother's mouth. "Say you'll come, please? Really? Excellent! I'm so excited Claire, you have no idea. Anyway, I'll hand the phone back to Alice, she looks like she's about to kill me. Can't wait to meet you next week! Goodbye." Elizabeth covered the mouth piece but didn't hand it over right away. "She sounds nice. I invited her and her sister over for diner next week." Mrs. Olivera stated proudly.

Alice huffed impatiently. "Yes, I heard all of that. Now can I please have my phone back?"

"Sure thing honey. Come inside when you're done with the lawn and I'll make you some tea."

With the phone finally back in her hand, Alice just stared at the device with wide eyes. Hesitantly, she brought the phone back up to her ear. "Uh..hey." She stuttered, wondering if the redhead had even bothered to remain on the line.

"Hey," Claire greeted and Alice could hear the amusement in her voice. "So that was your mom?"

"Yeah, sorry about her. She can be kind of uh, imposing sometimes."

"I don't mind. I'm looking forward to meeting her when K-Mart and I come over for dinner."

"You don't have to go if you don't want to. I know she kind of forced it on you and I don't want you to feel compelled to show up."

"Do you not want me to meet her?" This time there was no amusement in the redhead's voice. "I mean, I know it's kind of soon but..."

"No, I do!" Alice interrupted. "I just didn't think you would want to. We've only been on one date and I don't want to, you know, push things too fast? But I do want you to meet her." The blonde flushed at her honesty, hoping at least some of what she said made sense to Claire.

"Really?" The redhead's voice was small.

Alice sighed. "Yeah."

"Okay." There was a brief pause, neither knowing what to say next. "So, I guess I'll see you on Saturday?" Claire ventured.

"Yes. At eight." Alice replied quickly, grateful to the redhead for breaking the tension.

"Great, I'll let you finish cutting the grass then. Bye Alice." The redhead chirped, completely shrugging off the previous awkwardness.

"Bye Claire," Alice smiled as she ended the call, puffing out her cheeks as she let out a huge sigh of relief. Thanks to her mother, things were moving a little too quickly for her liking and Alice had almost blown it with the redhead. The blonde rubbed the back of her neck as she thought things over. The next week would certainly be conflicting for her. On the one hand she was more than excited to be spending more time with Claire but on the other, the redhead meeting Alice's mother would undoubtedly be uncomfortable for the blonde. If she knew her mother, and she did; Alice knew the evening would probably be more than a little embarrassing. Elizabeth loved to talk and Alice could only cringe as she imagined the kinds of things she would say. She would definitely have to have a talk with the older woman beforehand about what would and wouldn't be appropriate dinner topics.

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><p><strong>Okay, so we had lots of characters in this chapter. I don't know about you guys but I am enjoying the Betty and Claire friends<strong>**hip.**

**Next chapter will be Alice & Claire's second date! And coming soon will be the Claire/Mrs. Olivera meeting.**


	11. Undiscovered First

**Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil.**

**A/N: Okay, here it (finally) is for all you fabulous people, an update! And I offer my sincerest apologies for the delay. For anyone who was concerned, I promise I have not nor do I plan on abandoning this story. Inspiration is a fickle friend, never appearing when you need it. But I certainly don't offer it as an excuse.  
>AN2: Chapter title is by Feist. If you haven't checked out her new album 'Metals' I highly recommend it.  
>AN3: I really want to thank everyone who has been sticking with this story. It means a lot to me.**

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><p><strong><strong>

As soon as Alice heard a car door slam she raced to the front entrance and threw the front door open, pulling Carlos into the house before he could even bring his keys up to unlock the door.

"Carlos, I am the dumbest person alive."

"No arguments here." He jested but his eyes turned concerned at the worried look on his blonde sister. "You're serious aren't you? What did you do that was so stupid?"

"I asked Claire on a date."

A confused smirk worked across his face. "And?" He asked, eagerly waiting for his best friend to elaborate.

"And I made it for tomorrow but I don't actually have anything planned out yet! I've been trying to wrap my head around different ideas the last two days but I can't come up with anything good. It has to be special you know? Not just some dinner and a movie thing, so you're going to help me. This is your area of expertise after all." The words fell out of her mouth in such quick succession that she wasn't sure if Carlos had even understood everything she'd said, but a moment later he nodded his agreement.

"Okay, calm down. Of course I'll help you." Alice allowed him to spin her around and push her by the shoulders into the living room, only stopping once she was seated on the couch. "First things firsts; what time are you picking her up?"

"Eight."

"Good," he looked at his watch. "That gives us a little less than twenty-six hours to come up with a plan. Is there anything in particular you want to do?"

"Flowers." Alice stated, remembering her words to the redhead during their first date.

"Okay.." Carlos gave her a strange look but pressed on. "Flowers are good, let's try to build on that. You need something fun but not too casual, that's the easiest way to get stuck in the 'friend zone.' You should take her somewhere that reflects your personality but still be something she would enjoy too."

Alice fell back into the couch, burrowing herself as much as possible into the back cushion. "Those are a lot of parameters," she sighed. "I'm not sure I can do this Carlos."

"Of course you can. You're Alice Abernathy! You're the strongest, smartest, most capable person I know. I've seen you get lots of girls without even trying!"

"That's the whole thing, I never had to try before. I never wanted to. I could just take what I wanted from those other girls and then move on to the next one. But with Claire everything is different. I'm trying to have a real relationship with her, and we both know how well that turned out for me the last time I tried it."

"Every relationship is different Alice, just because things ended badly with-" Alice gave her brother a stern look, reminding him of their long standing agreement to never speak that name again, "her doesn't mean the same thing will happen with Claire. In fact, I'm sure it won't end like that."

"You don't know that."

Carlos sat next to her on the couch. "You're right, but here's what I do know. I was here four years ago and I remember how much that... bitch hurt you, but you have to let that stuff go. If you let fear of being hurt dictate your life you might miss out on something great."

"You think I might have something great with Claire?"

"I think I haven't seen you this emotional about anything in a long time. It's nice to see you actually giving a shit about something again." He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "So, about this date, do you want to bounce some ideas off me?"

She stood up abruptly, startling her brother with the action. "Thanks for your advice Carlos, but I think I should come up with something myself." She took a couple of steps before turning back to her now confused looking brother. "You're right, it is kind of nice to care about something again. I'll see you later." She added as she retreated from the room.

Alice descended the stairs into the basement, entering her room with her head hung low. The closer time crept towards the next day, the more convinced she became that maybe this whole dating thing wasn't a good idea, but the thought wasn't nearly as strong as it had been before her conversation with Carlos and she quickly dismissed it. Alice knew she was already in too deep with the redhead. She couldn't imagine just walking away now, no matter how uncertain she felt.

Things had been easy with all those other girls. Alice knew her good looks helped a lot, and a couple of whispers in their ears usually took care of the rest. But ever since that night at the hospital, Claire made Alice nervous. But in the best possible way. On the days she knew she would see the redhead, the normally patient Alice would find herself restless and bored throughout the day. And she'd been so anxious for their second date that she'd asked out the redhead without having any actual plans in place. She'd let her feelings overshadow her logic and now she was stuck.

Feelings. That was something the blonde had never expected to encounter again. Alice had made herself think that she was perfectly happy with having as few people involved in her life as possible. Her mother and Carlos were really the only people she needed, and while it was nice to have L.J and Betty around now and then, they wouldn't make or break her happiness. But she had quickly grown rather fond of K-Mart, something about the teenager had been infectious enough to rope Alice into becoming her tutor. And things with Claire had escalated from mild physical attraction to so much more. She wanted to see and talk to the redhead as much as possible, she wanted to hold hands with her and keep her close. She wanted Claire and not just sexually. Alice wanted a real relationship, she wanted Claire as her girlfriend.

Alice paced the room anxiously as these thoughts swirled her mind. It scared her how quickly her feelings were progressing. That first day in the diner she hadn't felt anything for the redhead and now she couldn't even think about Claire without excited knots twisting inside her.

Alice knew she needed to calm down. If she wanted Claire to be her girlfriend than she was going to need to come up with an amazing date. She sat on the edge of her bed, head in her hands as she contemplated her own stupidity. She'd hoped the perfect idea for a date would just come to her like the inspiration for one of her paintings. But the inspiration never came and now she was left with nothing. Carlos' advice hadn't been of much help either. Alice didn't think of herself as the romantic type, making the task at hand that much more difficult. She needed something fun and interesting for her and Claire to do but still needed romantic connotations so as to not be confused as just two friends hanging out.

She tangled her fingers into her own hair and gave it a sharp tug. "I am so fucked."

Alice moved over to the studio side of her room, she picked out a clean brush and reached for some red paint. The colour reminded her of Claire and not just because of the woman's hair. Claire's passion and stubborn demeanour as well as the fierceness with which she cared for others reminded Alice of the bold colour. She stared at the blank canvas sitting on her easel, her brow furrowed in contemplation. She didn't have a clear idea of what she wanted to paint but decided to just see where her hands would take her. At the very least she hoped painting would distract her enough for her mind to relax and a suitable plan for the date to slither in. Shaking her arms to relieve the tension, Alice took a deep breath before dipping the brush into the paint.

Watching the lines of red paint and hearing the faint scratching sound of the brush across the canvas instantly soothed the blonde. Allowing her mind to go blank, Alice followed her instincts and worked away at the canvas and it wasn't until almost an hour had passed that she finally put away her clean brushes and paints. A much more relaxed Alice once again collapsed onto the bed and before drifting off to sleep she smiled to herself, knowing exactly what she was going to do on her date with the redhead the following night. 

* * *

><p>Alice had arrived ten minutes early to the redhead's apartment. Even though all her plans were in place she still needed a few more minutes to psyche herself up and convince herself that this was going to work. This had definitely been a lot easier last time when it had been Claire who was in charge and all Alice had to do was show up. But this is what she had wanted; to prove to herself that she could still do this dating thing right.<p>

"Alice?"

Alice's head darted up and she flushed at seeing the redhead watching her. "Hey." She said nervously. "I was just uh.." trailing off the blonde gave Claire a sheepish smile.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah, something like that."

The redhead walked down the steps, closing the distance until she was standing right in front of Alice, grinning broadly. "Well if it helps, I already like you." She winked and Alice let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"That does help. Makes me feel a little more confident about giving you these." Alice motioned for Claire to wait and stepped towards her truck, reaching through the open window and picking up the small bouquet on the seat. They were only white daffodils and Alice mentally crossed her fingers, hoping to have made the right selection.

"Thank you Alice. These are great." Claire grinned brightly at the gesture, even giving the blonde a kiss on the cheek for her efforts, but Alice instinctively knew that she could cross daffodils off her list.

"But they aren't your favourites." The blonde stated more than asked.

"I still like them, white is definitely better than yellow ones but what I really love are-"

"Don't tell me!" Alice interrupted. "Half the fun is trying to figure it out myself. The more I get to know you the closer I'll get to picking your favourites." She couldn't identify the look Claire was giving her at the explanation and it made Alice uncomfortable enough to quickly change the subject.

The blonde tapped her hand against the metal door of her truck which she had been leaning against. "We should probably get going. Places to see and things to do." She mumbled quietly and was relieved when Claire smiled softly before climbing into the vehicle, setting the flowers to rest on the seat between them.

"So," Claire began as Alice started the truck and pulled away from the curb. "I dressed casually like you said, so are you going to tell me what I'm in store for tonight?"

Alice mused over how to explain her plans for the evening. "Tonight we're doing a sort of tour of the city/scavenger hunt type of thing."

"Scavenger hunt eh? What exactly am I looking for?"

"It's not so much looking for something as it is finding things along the way." Alice replied, purposely keeping her answer cryptic.

She had decided to take Claire to her favourite spots around the city, or at least some of them. Alice may have been raised in the suburbs but she had fallen in love with Raccoon City during college and couldn't imagine ever living anywhere else. It was her home. She figured the redhead probably hadn't had the opportunity to appreciate what the city had to offer, hence the 'tour' aspect of the evening. But what she was really hoping to accomplish in a roundabout way was to have Claire get to know her. If there was one thing Alice had always struggled with, it was talking about herself and letting people get close enough to see the real Alice. But she knew that if she wanted to properly date the redhead and make Claire her girlfriend than she'd have to open herself up to the other woman. Alice figured that showing her the things she liked would be easier then telling. And this way she could also get a feel for if Claire liked and enjoyed the same things. She just hoped Claire would pick up on her intentions and not think the evening was merely a random selection of destinations. She was pulled from her thoughts when Claire posed another question.

"Will I at least be given hints about what I'm suppose to find?"

Alice grinned at the redhead as she slowed the truck. "No promises." She chuckled softly when Claire rolled her eyes at her continued vague responses. Hoping to defer Claire's interest in asking more questions Alice posed one of her own. "How are you with a gun?"

Claire gave the blonde a weird look before grinning. "Let's put it this way, in highschool I was voted most likely to survive a zombie apocalypse."

"What kind of school has that as a category?"

"You're forgetting I used to live in Nevada. We also voted on 'best show girl,' and 'most likely to become a pimp.'"

The blonde shook her head in bewilderment as she pulled into a parking lot. "We're here." She announced.

Claire glanced out the window, taking in their destination. "Laser tag?"

"Yep." Alice gave herself a mental pat on the back on seeing the redhead's childlike excitement at their first activity.

"That is...awesome! Let's go." The redhead eagerly jumped out of the truck, Alice following close behind. 

* * *

><p>Claire had been putting it mildly when implying that she could handle a gun. The redhead had easily achieved the highest score during their game and Alice, while highly skilled at the art of laser tag herself, knew that had she not been on Claire's team the other woman could have easily beaten her.<p>

"That was so much fun!" Claire declared as they exited the building. Her grin brightened when Alice took her hand, pulling the redhead away from the parking lot and leading her along the sidewalk up the street.

"Glad you enjoyed yourself, though it probably wasn't necessary to make that little boy cry." Alice smirked.

"Hey, in war there are going to be casualties." Claire defended. "And that kid was at least twelve, he should have been man enough to handle it." A beat passed. "Besides, I only shot him because he had let his guard down while staring at your ass."

Alice had missed that part of the incident. "Nice to know I have you to defend my honour from the children."

"I think it's a fair trade; you defend me from street thugs and I ward off the hormonal teenagers."

"Sounds good to me." Alice replied absently as she spotted their next destination. There were few cars out that night and the pair didn't have to wait long before the blonde led them across the street.

"So where are we going next?" Claire asked.

"We're already here." Alice replied as they stopped walking, now standing in front of a cart featuring a large banner reading 'Harry's Hot Dogs.' She noticed the grim look on Claire's face and was quick to offer reassurance. "I know the name offers an unsavoury image but trust me, the hot dogs are to die for. If I was on death row and it was time for my final meal, this is what I would having. That's how good they are."

"You just set the bar pretty high."

"It won't hurt that you probably worked up an appetite kicking ass at laser tag, so you're probably willing to try anything right now.

"This is true."

After her first bite, Claire had turned right back and bought herself a second hot dog while the blonde had been occupied covering her own with the random selection of condiments provided. Alice normally tried not to gloat when she was proven right, but couldn't refrain when Claire closed her eyes and sighed at the food induced bliss.

The hot dog stand had been conveniently located at the entrance of the city's premiere park. It was no Central Park to be certain, but it was the only sign of green space in the heavily urban metropolis. Alice smiled fondly as they passed a tree she use to read under during breaks between college classes and the smile grew as slender fingers tangled with her own as they walked the path.

"How come you never worry about wondering around after dark?" Claire asked.

"Because I have eight years of mixed martial arts training and a black belt in karate." Alice replied dryly, not realizing it wasn't a typical answer until the redhead stopped walking and tugged on their joined hands so the blonde was facing her.

Despite how poorly lit the park was, Alice could still clearly see Claire staring at her with wide eyes. "Are you serious?"

"Yes?" She shrugged, knowing she would have to offer further explanation. "Carlos and I used to be bullied pretty badly in school. After it got around that my parents had taken off and Carlos' family had taken me in, kids seemed to think the best way to treat me was through teasing and beating us up after school." Now that she had started, Alice found it difficult to keep from relaying the full story. "They said I must be a real freak if even my own parents didn't want me and that Carlos' parents only took me in because they couldn't be Mexican if they only had one kid. The Olivera's aren't even Mexican by the way," she rambled. "After Carlos and I came home one day with black eyes and bloody lips his mother immediately put us into self defence classes."

Claire looked visibly upset at hearing what the blonde and her brother had been through but did her best to lighten the mood. "Did you end up beating the shit out of those kids?"

"They tell you not to do that when they teach you the moves." Alice gave the redhead a sly smile. "That being said though, we totally did. We took crap from them for a couple of months still before we could beat them but once we did we never had another problem." She pulled the redhead along so they were walking again. "Carlos and I enjoyed the classes a lot though, so we kept it up even through highschool. He even won some competitions, but that aspect of it never really interested me."

"I guess it was really lucky for K-Mart and I that you're the one who came to our rescue that night."

"I was hardly at my best then, getting stabbed and whatnot." Alice laughed bitterly. "I wasn't even thinking that night. When I saw those two guys holding you against the wall..." she trailed off. "We were just lucky I didn't get us both killed."

"Don't say that Alice. I can't ever repay you for what you did for K-Mart and I that night."

"That isn't what you're doing now right?" The blonde hated herself for thinking it, but she knew the doubt would always linger in the back of her mind if she didn't know for sure.

Claire halted their movement again. "I'm not dating you out of some obligation or because of hero worship." The redhead looked horrified at the mere suggestion and Alice scolded herself internally for causing that look to appear on Claire's face. "You know that right?"

"Yeah, I think I just needed to hear it out loud."

"I will admit though," Claire continued and the pair began walking again, following the circular trail around the park. "I was kind of on the fence about you before, but that night really showed me that my feelings for you were definitely more than platonic."

"Oh yeah?" Alice smiled shyly. "Care to share?"

Claire's cheeks turned pink under the blonde's gaze and she averted her eyes. "I may have been a little jealous of Betty when I first met her." She admitted. "It was stupid, but when she was looking at your arm I had a brief fantasy about punching her in the face. I know she was just doing her job but.." she shrugged. "Once I found out you two worked together I felt like a jackass."

"Even if we weren't co-workers, Betty is definitely not my type. She's a good friend and everything but I find her completely exhausting to be around. I always feel like I need a nap after talking to her." Alice had to stop herself from laughing, the idea of her and Betty together was just ridiculous in her mind. However, Claire looked so cute in her embarrassment that the blonde couldn't stop herself from teasing her further. "If you were that jealous of Betty, does that mean you weren't pretending with that waitress from the bar?"

Claire let out a soft chuckle at the memory. "Well I certainly held back," she admitted. "Not in a violent way or anything," she quickly added. "But if you had been my girlfriend for real I would not have held back in staking my claim."

"Like how? Grunting 'mine' and dragging me off like some caveman?"

"No, probably something a little more like this," a little smirk played along the woman's lips before Alice felt them crashing into her own.

The action surprised her but Alice was quick to respond. She half wished Claire had actually reacted this way at the bar but she certainly had no complaints about how they had gotten to this point in their relationship. Alice instantly granted access to the redhead's questing tongue, and inwardly grinned when Claire's hand grasped the front of her t-shirt, tugging the blonde a half step closer.

It was over all to soon for Alice when Claire abruptly separated their lips, leaving the blonde in a daze as she struggled to catch her breath. She didn't even care that Claire could see the obvious effect her actions had over the blonde. The redhead almost giggled as she released Alice's shirt and tapped the blonde's chin. Alice quickly snapped her mouth shut, not having realized it had been hanging open. She grinned sheepishly.

"I think I like jealous Claire."

The redhead shoved her playfully and started walking along the path again. Alice watched for a moment before quickly following. Once she had fallen in step Claire turned the tables on her. "Now it's your turn to tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Well I think it's pretty obvious that you're enjoying us being more than friends, so when did you realize you liked me?"

Alice tried not to show it on her face but she was panicking. It was a fair question for the redhead to ask but sharing her feelings wasn't Alice's forte and she didn't want to say the wrong thing. "Can I plea the fifth?"

Claire seemed to sense the blonde's hesitation because she let it drop without hassle. "Sure." She shrugged nonchalantly but Alice didn't miss the disappointed look in the redhead's eyes.

Running a hand through her perpetually dishevelled hair Alice sighed, reminding herself that the evening was suppose to be about her opening up. She wanted Claire to be her girlfriend for real but that wouldn't happen if the redhead didn't even know how she felt.

"I didn't want to have sex with you." Alice blurted, immediately feeling her face burn.

Claire gave her a sideways glance but didn't speak. Instead she pulled Alice over to a nearby bench and when they were seated she waited patiently for the blonde to elaborate.

"That didn't come out right."

"Ok."

"I meant that I don't want to fuck you." Alice couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. She dropped her head into her hands, waiting because any moment now Claire was going to get up and leave. What she didn't expect was for the redhead to let out a slow chortle. Alice lifted her head and leaned back into the bench. "It isn't funny." Despite the assertion, Alice could feel her own lips twitching into a grin.

Claire's laughter started bellowing through the empty park. "I'm sorry Alice." She tried to apologize though her continuing smirk said otherwise. "But let me see if I'm understanding this right. You knew you liked me because you didn't want to sleep with me?"

"I tried to convince myself at first that it wasn't more than friendship I was feeling. The night of the art show after Carlos and I walked you two home he was already convinced that you and I should be together. I had known you for all of five minutes so I was quick to brush it off."

Claire slid down the bench a few inches until they were almost shoulder to shoulder. Gently, she ran her fingers down Alice's forearm, tracing the lines of her palm when she reached the blonde's hand. "So what changed? I know you kind of resisted when I tried to ask you out but you never would have let me kiss you if you didn't want it."

"I don't know what changed," she replied honestly. "Maybe nothing changed and I was never really fighting it at all." She closed her hand around Claire's fingers, encouraging them to lace between her own. "But what I do know is that as long as I've known you I've enjoyed spending time with you. I know that I respect what you do everyday to provide K-Mart with everything she needs. I know that you can handle mine and Carlos' stupid birthday traditions and get along with my friends. And I know that those are only a few of the things I like about you. But to get back to my embarrassing outburst, what I meant was that I didn't want to fall into bed with you until I found out all those things that I liked. I haven't dated in a long time, I usually do the 'no strings attached' thing. But with you I want the strings attached. That's how I knew I liked you."

The ensuing silence was tortuous for Alice. It was the moment she had been dreading since she opened her mouth. She waited for Claire to say something. Anything. It felt like an eternity had passed but in reality it was only a couple of seconds before the redhead spoke.

"So what you're saying is that you do want to sleep with me?" Her tone was completely serious but the mirth in her eyes assured Alice that it was the redhead's attempt to put her at ease.

Feeling her confidence return, Alice smirked. "I'm definitely not opposed to the idea."

"Pssh" Claire scoffed. "One kiss and you're putty in my hands, I don't know if you could even handle all of this."

"That sounds like a challenge." She stared at the redhead, daring her to make the next move.

"Maybe." Claire replied, tossing the ball back in Alice's court.

The sound of a dog barking broke the trance and Alice looked away first, remembering they were still in the park. On their date. She watched the dog run passed their bench, it's owner jogging along a moment later. She turned back to the redhead, offering a sincere smile before standing up, simultaneously pulling the other woman to her feet.

"Come on. We still have places to go, and I saved the best for last." She grew both excited and nervous, thinking about showing Claire her favourite part of the city. But before she even made it one step, the hand in her own halted her movement.

"Alice."

She could tell just from the way her name was said that she wasn't dealing with the same playful Claire she'd been experiencing all night. It didn't take long, but Alice swore she would have waited forever to hear the next words that left Claire's mouth.

"I want the strings attached too."

Alice was at a loss for words. But it turned out she didn't need them as Claire leaned in to give her a chaste kiss. The tenderness of it felt completely unfamiliar to the blonde but she revelled in it. No one had ever kissed her like that before. It was almost as if she could taste the sincerity of the redhead's words, causing Alice to grin like an idiot when Claire pulled away.

The amusement returned to Claire's face when she caught sight of the grin. "So where to next?" 

* * *

><p>"The hospital? What are we doing here?"<p>

"This is my favourite place in the city, and not because I work here."

"Then why?

"I'll show you, come on." Alice grabbed her date's hand. Once inside, she looked around carefully before walking quickly through the hallways, at a pace where she was almost dragging the redhead behind her.

"Are we in some kind of hurry?" Claire asked and when Alice paused to glance back saw the bemusement on her face.

Alice looked around them again before answering. "No, I just don't want anyone to see us. If Betty finds out I brought you here I'll never hear the end of it. She'll be all 'Oh my God Alice! You took her to the hospital for your date? You're completely hopeless!' You know what she's like." She swallowed hard after speaking. It wasn't like she cared what Betty thought but she didn't want the other woman's teasing to affect Claire's image of her.

Feeling the redhead squeeze her hand Alice met clear blue eyes. "I don't think you're hopeless." Tugging on the blonde's hand she urged her to keep moving. "So what was it you wanted to show me?"

Alice grinned. "It's this way." Further down the hallway she pulled Claire into an elevator and pushed the button for the top floor. The car stopped several times before the pair exited and Alice led the redhead down another long hall, stopping at a door marked 'No Entry.' Glancing around the deserted hallway to make sure they went unseen, Alice procured out of her pocket a rather extensive set of keys. When the door swung open she darted inside, tugging Claire along. On the other side was a concrete staircase. The stairs were narrow enough that the pair couldn't walk side by side but it only took a minute before they reached another door at the top. This door didn't require a key and the blonde pushed it open and the two women walked out into the night air.

Alice turned back to face the redhead, looking at her expectantly. She wasn't surprised to be met by Claire's quizzical expression but wasn't expecting the question that fell from the redhead's lips.

"You have keys to the roof?" Claire asked. "What? Do you sweep the helipad or something?"

Alice spared a glance at the key ring still clasped in her hand before re-pocketing it. "Uh, technically I'm not suppose to have keys to get up here. I borrowed it from a security guard who carelessly left his keys on the table in the employee break room." She shrugged.

"Can we get in trouble for being up here?"

"Probably." Alice replied nonchalantly but was quick to reassure the redhead when her eyes bugged out at the admission. "But I've been sneaking up here for years and never gotten in trouble." Then as an afterthought added; "of course, in all that time I've never been caught either."

Claire rolled her eyes but seemed willing to let the potential rule breaking go. "So tell me, why is this you're favourite place in the city?"

"How are you with heights?" Alice asked, not answering the redhead's question.

"I'm alright." Claire replied only to have Alice pulling her by the hand across the roof top.

"Close your eyes," Alice instructed. "I promise not to push you off or anything."

Claire obeyed, allowing the blonde to lead her around ventilation chimneys and over a couple of pipe lines.

"It's better if you get to see it all at once." Alice explained as they walked, silently hoping that Claire would enjoy the surprise as much as she did. When they reached the far side of the hospital roof Alice positioned Claire and stood behind the redhead, gently gripping the other woman's waist. "Okay, open your eyes."

Hearing Claire gasp confirmed everything Alice believed about this one spot. She was certain, without a shadow of a doubt, that where they were currently standing offered the most perfect view of the whole city. The skyline illuminated by the city's light pollution but not enough that the pair couldn't faintly see the stars littering the night sky. Alice never felt more at peace than the times when she would sit on the edge of the roof, feet dangling over the side, and let the scenic beauty of her favourite city take her mind away. The only thing she liked better than watching the city at night was sitting there to watch the sunrise.

Now certain that Claire wasn't about to go tumbling off the the rooftop, Alice started to remove her hands from the redhead's hips. But Claire had a reflex time that could challenge the blonde's own and she felt the other woman take her hands and pulling them further around her waist, forcing Alice to move closer. Catching on to what Claire wanted Alice embraced her from behind, letting her chin rest on the woman's shoulder and letting her thumb drag gently over the warm skin of Claire's arm resting over her own. Not counting the time they'd fallen asleep on the redhead's couch, this was the closest they had ever been physically and Alice was enjoying it quite a bit. She hadn't planned on keeping Claire out until sunrise, but she wouldn't mind if neither of them moved until then. She'd never brought anyone up here before, even Carlos didn't know about her special spot. It was something she had always kept just for herself. But in that moment, with Claire wrapped safely in her arms, she had never felt more content.

It was several long minutes before the silence was broken. "I can see why this is your favourite spot," Claire breathed gently. "It's beautiful."

"You are beautiful," Alice said with complete conviction. While staring at the postcard perfect scene before her she realized she'd much rather be looking at the woman in her arms.

Claire turned in her arms and walked them back a few feet so they weren't standing as close to the edge. "It's time to go." That was all she said but Alice immediately nodded in agreement, taking Claire's hand once again and leading them back inside the hospital.

The pair barely made it out to Alice's truck in the parking lot before they were all over each other. Claire straddled Alice's lap in the passenger seat, the blonde aiding their position tightly holding on to her lower back as their lips mashed together. Alice let out an embarrassingly loud moan as Claire's tongue swiped across the roof of her mouth.

All of her previous hesitations about being intimate with Claire vanished as their exchange grew more heated. Knowing the redhead wanted the same thing from their relationship made Alice feel more at ease. When she hooked up with other girls she always made it clear that it was a one time thing and would sneak out before morning. But she wanted to stick around with Claire, and more importantly she wanted Claire to stick around for her. And knowing that Claire was not going to disappear in the morning, that Claire wanted her and not anyone else, Alice knew she was ready to take that next step. But she didn't want her first time with the redhead to be in the front seat of her truck.

The blonde broke the kiss, but still held Claire tightly against her. She was already tingling with pleasure and they had barely done anything yet. "Do you want to head over to mine? It's closer but we might have to sneak passed Carlos."

"We could do that...or," Claire drew the word out. "We can go back to my place. K-Mart is having a sleep over at a friend's so we would have more privacy."

Alice gulped inaudibly. "Are you sure this is what you want?" She gave the redhead one last chance to back out, but prayed she wouldn't take it.

"Mmhmm." Claire hummed, running her fingers through blonde hair. "I've wanted you for a long time Alice." She purred, trailing kisses along Alice's jaw.

Claire's words and lips had effectively put the blonde in a stupor. Normally she would be the one to take control in situations like this, but Claire seemed able to play her like an instrument. Alice pulled her keys from her pocket, offering them to the redhead. "Do you want to drive?"

Claire grinned wickedly and was in the driver's seat, keys in hand so fast that Alice didn't even register what was happening. Claire ripped out of the parking lot, causing Alice to almost slam into the window from the motion. Right then she couldn't care less if her truck ended up in crumpled heap, as long as they made it to the redhead's apartment as quickly as possible.**  
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><p><strong>So there it is, I hope you all enjoyed it. I don't do the smut thing so I hope no one is too disappointed with the ending. It is something I want to be able to incorporate into my writing at some point but for now my stories probably will not progress to a rating any higher than 'T'.<strong>

**I've already started on the next chapter, fingers crossed that it won't take as long as this one did. And once again, thanks for reading!**


	12. Faster

**A/N: **I am back! With a brand new chapter! I can never fully apologize for the extended gap between this and the last chapter but I am very sorry to have left everyone hanging. This chapter is fairly lengthy I think, so I hope that helps you to forgive me. I promise I will not abandon this story, I am fully committed to seeing it through to the end, although I do not know yet how long it will take us to get there.

**A/N2: **Chapter song title is from Matt Nathanson.

**A/N3:** Sorry again for the long wait, and thank you to everyone who has stuck with this story!

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><p>Claire groaned groggily as she roused from sleep. It was hot. Way too hot in the room for her liking. Her weak attempt to kick off the warm blankets covering her body were futile as it became obvious to her that she couldn't move. Opening her eyes, Claire found herself lying on her side in bed facing her bedroom window, the closed blinds effectively keeping out the early morning sunlight. The second thing she noticed was that she was naked under the blankets. Memories of the previous night flooded her mind as she recalled just exactly how she ended up in this position. The massive grin on her face a tell tale sign of how good those memories were.<p>

Her grin broadened as she realized that the reason she couldn't move was due to Alice's body trapping her to the bed. The blonde had one arm possessively wrapped around her middle and their legs tangled together. Alice was pressed tightly into her back and despite the heat under the covers Claire shivered at the feeling of impossibly soft skin against her own.

With some minor difficulty, Claire managed to raise the slumbering blonde's arm high enough for her to roll over. With slightly more space now between them, Alice shifted in her sleep looking for the lost warmth of the redhead's body. Alice's brow furrowed and subconsciously she reached out for Claire. Gently brushing away the dark blonde locks from the sleeping woman's face, Claire wondered if it was possible for Alice to be any more adorable. The touch appeared to ease Alice as she sighed contentedly, ceasing all movement.

Claire breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't want Alice to awake just yet. She was enjoying this free, unguarded side of Alice that she had just started seeing glimpses of last night. Claire's heart fluttered as she thought of everything that had happened over the last twelve hours. The blonde was starting to open up about herself and even more so, her feelings for the redhead. Alice may have had trouble explaining it the night before but Claire had no difficulty in deciphering her words. Alice had feelings for her. Strong ones too. Stronger than she suspected the blonde even realized. Claire had tried to play it off with her teasing, but her insides had been squirming with excitement as Alice had admitted she wanted more than just sex from the redhead.

Claire allowed herself a moment of vanity as she stared at her sleeping lover, wondering how she had lucked out. Alice Abernathy was gorgeous and she was all hers. Her eyes glazed over as images of that fit body hovering over her and writhing underneath her flashed across her mind. Last night had been incredible. Claire rarely found someone who could keep up with her and yet Alice challenged her stamina to the point where Claire wondered if she would be able to satisfy the blonde. But Alice seemed to be satisfied now as she slept peacefully in the redhead's bed.

Claire let her gaze linger, never once feeling the urge to leave the bed and disrupt the peaceful cocoon her room was providing them. Knowing that eventually they would have to get up was enough to cause a frown to form but the redhead forced those thoughts away for the time being.

She didn't know exactly how long she laid there, watching the blonde before Alice started to stir again. The sleeping woman's mouth opening in a soft yawn and her legs stretched, pulling at the blankets covering their warm bodies. Claire felt the hand laying on her hip slowly slid up a bit and simultaneously watched Alice's eyebrows knit together in confusion. The hand began to wander along her skin. It tickled and Claire let out a low hum. At the sound, green eyes shot open. Squinting against the early morning daylight, Alice nevertheless grinned upon seeing the redhead lying close beside her.

"Hey," she greeted through a sigh, her voice still thick with sleep.

"Morning." Claire replied, not even caring that she'd pretty much been caught staring at the blonde as she slept.

"How long have you been up?"

"Not long." Claire kept her voice low, still hyper aware of their close proximity. Alice had yet to remove her hand from Claire's waist. In fact the woman had started rubbing small circles on the skin beneath her fingertips which Claire found delightfully distracting and was disappointed when the movement eventually stopped.

Alice rolled onto her back, dragging her hand off the redhead and rubbing her eyes as she attempted to suppress a yawn. "You really wore me out last night." The blonde's grin was equal parts amusement and mischief as she took in Claire's blush at her words.

Despite her flushed cheeks, Claire smirked. "I try."

"Well, if you don't mind a little morning breath do you think I could persuade you to try again?"

"Do you always wake up horny? Because that is something I should be aware of for the future of our relationship."

Alice shrugged. "Not always," she said seriously. "But I don't always wake up next to you."

Claire didn't respond as she rolled on top of the blonde. With knees on either side of Alice's hips Claire ran her hands down the blonde's arms until she reached the skilled hands she'd become acquainted with a few short hours ago. Threading their fingers together Claire picked up their joined hands, using them for balance as she leaned down. Hovering just inches above Alice's waiting lips her red hair fell around them, almost blocking out the rest of the world.

She was surprised when the normally patient Alice raised her head up from the pillow to connect their lips. Claire's response was immediate. There was no way Alice was going to show her up when they were in _her_ bed.

"Mmm." She felt more than heard the blonde moan against her lips. Claire followed as Alice's head fell back to the pillow and dragged their joined hands up, pinning them just below the headboard. She ended the kiss in favour of gliding her lips along the blonde's jaw line and up to her ear. Just as she was about to speak the sound of a door slamming caught her attention.

"I'm home!" K-Mart announced loudly from outside the door and Claire was quickly scrambling off the bed.

Her feet got tangled up in the sheets in her haste as she leapt toward the bedroom door and flicked the lock a mere second before the doorknob jiggled. The redhead breathed a sigh of relief at her success in preventing her sister from barging into what undoubtedly would have been the most awkward moment of their lives.

"What the hell Claire? You never lock the door. What's going on?" K-Mart called as she banged on the door.

"You can't come in K." Claire replied, crossing the room to her dresser and pulling out a pair of sweat pants and t-shirt. She grabbed a second set of clothes, tossing them to Alice, giving her an apologetic look.

"Fine." K-Mart's annoyed huff was heard before the teenager's footsteps indicated her retreat from the door.

Now that her heart didn't feel like it was going to burst out of her chest, Claire huffed in annoyance as she pulled on her set of clothes. Her sister was notorious for having the worst timing and Claire could not be more frustrated at the moment. It was unusual for K-Mart to return from a sleep over at Angie's this early, usually Claire had to call or her sister would forget to come home at all. So of course it was today of all days, just when she and Alice were really starting to get serious that K-Mart would return early.

Once dressed, Claire took the opportunity to watch the blonde get dressed. Even worse than almost getting caught was not finishing what they had barely started. She frowned, hoping Alice wouldn't be too disappointed in the sudden turn of events.

"Sorry," the redhead apologized. "K-Mart doesn't usually come home this early."

"It's okay." Alice replied, completely unfazed. "Do you need me to sneak out the fire escape?" Her voice was muffled as she pulled the t-shirt over her head and Claire wasn't sure if she was kidding.

"What? No!" Claire stood by the door waiting for Alice to finish getting dressed. "I'm not going to just throw you out Alice...at least not without giving you breakfast first."

"That's very generous of you." Alice played along before turning serious. "Are you sure about this? K-Mart is going to take one look at us and figure it out."

"I think she can handle it." Claire reached for the lock but Alice caught her wrist. She looked at the other woman with a confused grin. "What is it?"

"I uh..." the blonde stammered. "I feel like as soon as we leave the room our date will officially be over and there was something I wanted to ask you."

Claire adjusted the blonde's grip on her so they were holding hands instead and offered an encouraging smile. "Okay."

"Will you be my girlfriend?" Alice blurted without preamble. "I like you a lot and I probably should have asked you last night before we..." she trailed off but Claire understood. "But will you?"

Claire was hoping Alice would ask her that, but still hadn't expected it so soon. Still, she tried to play it cool. "I must be better in bed than I thought."

The blonde didn't even crack a smile at her attempted joke. "I'm being serious Claire."

"Sorry." Claire apologized. She took in the other woman's nervous stance and wanted to put her at ease, but first she had to make sure that what she wanted and what Alice wanted were the same thing. "So you want us to be exclusive?"

Alice nodded. "I don't know about you Claire, but since we met I haven't even looked at anyone else."

"Me either." She reassured. "Just you."

Smiling, Alice leaned in to kiss the redhead deeply before speaking again. "If you don't want to put a label on this, it's fine."

"No, I do." She kissed Alice again. "I want to be your girlfriend and I want you to be mine." The blonde grinned at her confession and the image was so endearing that Claire had to remind herself of the teenager in the other room to prevent herself from dragging her new girlfriend back to the bed to celebrate their coupledom. _Girlfriend_. Alice Abernathy was her girlfriend. The thought spun through her mind several thousand times in just the few short seconds since it had occurred and it made Claire almost giddy with joy. She pulled Alice back in for another deep kiss that she only reluctantly relinquished after several minutes. She then led them out of her bedroom, hand in hand, and into the adjoining living room.

K-Mart was sprawled out on the chesterfield, lying on her back as she flipped through the channels with the T.V on mute. She looked up at the sound of her sister's approaching footsteps and her eyes went wide at seeing the older blonde being tugged along. It didn't take long for her surprise to turn into a loud, excited squeal.

"Oh my god! Are you two like together now? Like officially?"

"Yeah K," Claire replied. Her own grin faltered a little at seeing the teen's excitement. "But I must say, it's kind of off putting how happy you are about this."

"Are you kidding? I love Alice, she's awesome!" K-Mart's words caused a hint of a blush to work across Alice's cheeks. "She's like the coolest girlfriend you've ever had. I mean, she could probably do better than you Claire–"

"Hey!" The redhead's protest went ignored by her sister.

"–but I'm not going to complain about having her around more."

"Uh, thanks K-Mart." Alice said and squeezed Claire's hand affectionately, soothing the redhead's annoyance. "Claire is amazing. I'm the one who is lucky to have her."

K-Mart shrugged. "If you say so." The teenager than burrowed herself further into the couch and resumed her channel surfing.

"What are you even doing back so early K?" Claire asked. "Not that I don't love seeing your happy face this early in the morning." She added, her overly sweet smile revealing her sarcasm.

"Angie had a dentist appointment this morning so they dropped me off early." She looked up at her sister and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry for almost barging in on you before."

"No harm done. Just uh, knock from now on, okay?" She waited to see K-Mart nod her agreement then moved to the counter to brew her morning pot of coffee.

"But can you both at least admit I was right about you two." K-Mart was quick to turn cocky. "I said you guys would be perfect for each other and neither one of you believed me."

"Oh my god you're right." Alice exclaimed with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "We should be thanking you K. Where is my phone? I need to call everyone I know and tell them K-Mart was right. Claire, you start printing out flyers and I will alert all major media sources. Everyone needs to be aware that we have a perfect matchmaker in our midst!"

The redhead burst out laughing and almost doubled over at seeing the stupefied look on her sister's face. Had those clearly sarcastic comments come from anyone else they would have sounded mean but it was the perfect comeback against the teenager's gloating.

"Wow" K-Mart finally found her voice. "I didn't know you could be so cold Alice." Claire could tell K-Mart's pout was really a facade.

"Well what you do you expect from us K? Throw you a parade or something?" Claire said.

The young blonde huffed. "A simple 'thank you' would have sufficed."

Claire watched as Alice plopped herself down on the couch beside her sister. "Thank you K-Mart," the blonde said softly. "It means a lot to me that you approve."

K-Mart grinned. "Even if I had just met you today I would approve. Claire has been obnoxiously happy lately and I can only assume it is all your fault."

The redhead flushed from her place in the kitchen. She hadn't realized her feelings had been so obvious but as Alice winked at her from across the room, she honestly couldn't care less how transparent she was being.

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><p>A week later Claire was stirred from her sleep by the sound of laughter. She rolled onto her back and stretched, yawning as she moved. The laughing from the other room continued and Claire wondered what on earth her sister was doing. The redhead glanced at the clock and realized it was almost eleven. She hadn't slept in this late in years but it wasn't an unwelcomed occurrence. She kicked off the blankets and rolled off the bed. Her feet dragged as she walked and Claire reached blindly for the door knob, eyes not yet accustomed to the daylight. Fumbling for a moment she was able to yank the door open and exited her bedroom. Claire paused after only taking a few steps. She stood with arms crossed, still missing the warmth of her bed, as she surveyed the room. The laughter was much louder now and blue eyes squinted to see what was going on.<p>

K-Mart was doubled over in a giggling fit, sitting on the couch with her head lost somewhere between her knees as she shook uncontrollably. And she wasn't alone. Alice was sitting on the opposite side of the couch, watching the teen with a confused smile.

"It wasn't that funny K," the older blonde insisted.

But K-Mart continued to giggle. "Okay, it's my turn to pick." The teenager craned her neck, looking around the room as if searching for something. It was than that she noticed the redhead had come out of her room. "Claire! You're finally awake!"

Claire crossed the room and stood behind the couch where they were sitting. "Yeah, how is someone suppose to sleep when there is all this giggling going on in the next room?" She said teasingly and was unsurprised when her sister scoffed. The redhead then turned her focus to Alice and smiled. "Hey," she greeted softly and leaned down over the back of the couch to kiss her girlfriend. Claire hadn't seen Alice much during the week because the blonde had been roped into working a couple of double shifts after one of the regular day custodians had been fired for stealing morphine from the hospital. And even though they had talked on the phone whenever they could, Claire couldn't believe how much she had missed Alice after only a few days apart.

Alice ended the kiss after K-Mart started making some obnoxious gagging noises but the girl quickly stopped when Claire glared in her direction.

"So, what's going on here?" The redhead asked, getting back to what had woken her up in the first place.

"Well I sent you a text to see if you were awake," Alice began.

"You left your phone on the table," K-Mart continued, pointing to the device on the small piece of furniture in front of the couch. "I may have...er, read it" she admitted and Claire quirked an eyebrow before nodding at her to continue the story. "So I called Alice and told her to just come over."

"How long have you been here?"

"An hour maybe?"

"I didn't think you would sleep in this late." K-Mart supplied. "Alice didn't think we should wake you so we started playing a game!" The younger blonde shifted to see the redhead better, leaning her back against the arm of the couch and pulling her knees into her chest. "Except Alice is super lame so we were playing '20 Questions' but American history style," she rolled her eyes dramatically. "You have to pick a person or event of historical significance."

Claire didn't think that sounded very fun at all. "Who's winning?"

"K-Mart actually." Alice gave the teenager a proud smile, obviously glad to see her tutoring was paying off.

"I don't think this was a game K. It looks to me like Alice tricked you into studying."

K-Mart frowned for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. But Alice interrupted before the teenager could protest.

"An educational game is still a game." Alice pointed out. "We were having fun right K?" The teen nodded her agreement. "Exactly. Claire's just trying to bug you because we woke her up."

"Yes. You did, but I guess it was about time for me to get my lazy ass out of bed anyway."

"Yeah Claire, it's practically noon." The younger blonde admonished playfully as she rose to her feet. "I'm going to have a shower." She stated, padding over to the bathroom door. "Try to behave while I'm gone," she added before quickly disappearing from sight as the door shut.

Claire stared at the closed door for a moment, ever mystified at her sister's strange tendency to shift between topics without warning. But the thought abruptly vanished as she felt herself yawning. It was strong enough to make her eyes water slightly and to her embarrassment a load groan followed the action. Without looking at her girlfriend Claire turned to the kitchen. "Coffee," she spoke aloud. "I need coffee."

But as she turned to the kitchen counter it wasn't difficult to see there was something different about the room. Perched in between a stack of bills and the bowl of apples that K-Mart refused to touch, was a small arrangement of purple orchids. The flowers had been in placed in a tall glass, acting as a makeshift vase. She guessed K-Mart had been responsible for their placement, but there wasn't a doubt in her mind on who had brought them.

"Where did these come from?" Claire asked unnecessarily, as she ran a fingertip over the closest bloom. The only other time Claire could ever recall getting flowers was at her highschool graduation, and she liked to think that didn't really count so she was enjoying this unsuspected thoughtfulness of her girlfriend. She didn't question Alice's desire to try and figure out her favourite flower but she would happily accept every plant on this earth as long as it was from her girlfriend.

"I got them for you." Alice explained, a hint of a blush tinging her cheeks. "Do you like them?"

Claire did. Very much actually. Orchids weren't her favourite but the colour was perfect. Most people didn't expect the redhead to like purple, but there was something whimsically delicate about the colour she just could not ignore. She nodded and smiled at the blonde. "Yes, thank you. You're getting closer." Alice seemed to be enthused by her answer and beamed back at the redhead.

Alice removed herself from the couch and joined Claire by the counter, wrapping the redhead in her arms. "Good," she murmured before kissing Claire deeply. When she pulled away Claire was enthralled to see that lazy grin spread across her girlfriend's face. "I hope it's okay I came over. I wanted to see you for a bit before you meet my mother and she completely scares you off."

Claire laughed. "Do you really think that's a possibility?"

"Yes! The woman is crazy." Alice stated with total seriousness. "Remember how uncomfortable Carlos made you feel when you first met him? Well multiply that by about a million and that's my mother."

Claire shook her head and suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "Isn't this backwards? Aren't I suppose to be the one freaking out about meeting her and you're suppose to reassure me?"

The blonde scoffed. "You don't have to worry about her liking you. She is going to love you and K-Mart. In fact," Alice looked her girlfriend up and down with her arms still loosely ensnaring the redhead, "she's going to want to know how I managed to snag you up."

Claire was about to protest but her words were swallowed as Alice quickly captured her lips. She sighed into the slightly parted lips of the blonde and gripped possessively at Alice's neck in a futile attempt to pull her girlfriend impossibly closer. Her own tongue barely had to graze Alice's bottom lip to gain instant access to the blonde's eager mouth.

The redhead felt the arms that had been gently wrapped around her tighten their grip as she was simultaneously pushed up against the kitchen counter, their hips grinding together in the process providing the most delirious friction and Claire moaned loudly into the kiss that was only growing sloppier by the second.

When a wandering hand snuck up the back of her t-shirt, Claire was immediately pulled from the haze of hormones. It wasn't yet lost on her that they wouldn't be alone for much longer. And knowing that being interrupted by K-Mart would make her both cranky for the rest of the day as well as extremely uncomfortable, Claire forced herself, albeit reluctantly to pull her lips away. She gave the blonde several quick pecks before resting her forehead against Alice's and tried to get her breathing to return to normal. She slid her hands down Alice's arms until they caught her wrists and slowly led the blonde's wandering hands back out from beneath her shirt but left them to rest on her hips.

"Sorry," she apologized, moving her head back just far enough to look into darkened green eyes. Claire loved how they were almost the same height, the blonde being barely an inch taller when she stood up straight, which was a rare occurrence. She'd never understood the whole staring into someone's eyes thing, but something about Alice's gaze always managed to trap her. "We can't uh... get carried away." Claire stuttered, voice thick with lust as she tried not to succumb to Alice's burning gaze.

Half of the blonde's mouth tightened in a smirk, and she stared at Claire for a few seconds longer before finally blinking and tearing her eyes away from the redhead. "You're right. K-Mart will be out soon and we don't want to scar her for life with a free show." Alice took a half step back, effectively separating their bodies but kept her hands in place on Claire's waist as she gave her girlfriend a reassuring smile.

It was then that K-Mart reemerged from the bathroom. The teenager smirked knowingly at the couple, seeing them standing close together near the counter before retreating to her bedroom. But she returned less than five minutes later, fully dressed and ready for the day. K-Mart rolled her eyes when she noticed the women hadn't moved from their spot near the counter and tried to usher her sister into movement.

"That's enough you two. I'm not putting up with this all day."

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><p>It felt like bats were flying around her stomach as she and K-Mart climbed out of Alice's truck in front of her girlfriend's childhood home. Despite Alice's reassurances, Claire had become nervous to be meeting the blonde's mother. The entire drive over, a million terrible scenarios and thoughts flew through her head. What if the woman didn't like her? Just a few weeks ago she had been a waitress but would Alice's mother think a mechanic was any better? Claire mostly focussed on life one day at a time and didn't really have much of a future planned out for herself. And would Mrs. Olivera think that a girlfriend with a teenage dependent was too much baggage for Alice?<p>

With these doubts suddenly plaguing her mind, Claire made no effort to move any closer to the house in front of them. She wrung her hands together and realized they were empty. She was about to meet her girlfriend's mother and hadn't even thought to bring the woman anything. Her anxiety rose tenfold and she froze completely.

"Claire?" Alice prompted when she noticed her girlfriend had become rooted in place. "Claire are you okay?" The blonde spoke gently. She stood in front of the redhead until Claire made eye contact. "It's okay Claire. If you don't want to do this I understand. I know it's kind of soon for you to meet her," Alice's voice dropped off a bit as she spoke. "So you don't have to go through with it, I know she kind of pressured you into agreeing..."

Claire completely snapped out of her haze as Alice rambled. The blonde had it all wrong. "Alice, I do want to meet her. She's one of the most important people in your life. I'm just worried. Alice, what if she hates me?"

K-Mart rolled her eyes but didn't speak. Alice gave the redhead a reassuring smile, visibly relieved that the redhead still wanted to go through with it. "Claire it's not possible. I know it's cliche but just be yourself."

Claire nodded slowly and tried to smile. It wasn't that she worried about Mrs. Olivera liking her as a person, but what if the woman didn't like her as Alice's girlfriend? What if Alice's mother thought she wasn't good enough? Would something she said be enough to sway Alice's opinion of her?

After a long moment, Claire forced herself to move and took Alice's hand for support as they headed up the path to the blonde's childhood home. They reached the top step of the porch when the front door was flung open, causing Claire to jump at the unexpected action.

Elizabeth Olivera stood in the doorway for approximately three seconds, just staring at Claire before her hands clapped together excitedly.

"Oh, Alice! She's absolutely gorgeous!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she grabbed hold of Claire's wrist, pulling her into the house. Claire had no choice but to allow herself to be dragged along behind the older woman. When Elizabeth reached the living room, Claire was unceremoniously pulled down next to her on the couch. "So, tell me about yourself."

Claire panicked as Alice's mother looked at her expectantly.

"Uh, my name is Claire." The redhead immediately wanted to slap herself for her stupidity. Her name was probably the only thing the woman did know about her. She spotted her sister and Alice enter the room and breathed a sigh of relief. "That is my younger sister K-Mart."

Elizabeth was off the couch in a heartbeat and crossed the room to engulf K-Mart in a hug. "I'm so glad you both could come. Alice has told me virtually nothing about you." She said as she released the teenager and ushered her into a chair before retaking her seat next to Claire on the sofa. "I've been dying to meet you for weeks!"

Claire flushed bright red. "It's nice to meet you as well. Thank you for having us over."

"I know I kind of pressured you into it on the phone, but if I had left it up to Alice it could have been months before I got to meet the woman who's been making her so happy!"

Claire's cheeks continued to burn. She'd only thought about how Alice had brought positive changes to her and K-Mart's lives, she'd never actually considered that she had the same effect on the blonde's life too. It was kind of crazy to think about how much things had changed so quickly. A month ago if someone had told Claire she'd be sitting on the couch with her girlfriend's mother she would have laughed in their face. But Alice had stumbled into her life and Claire could not be more grateful. And with that thought in mind, she was finally able to relax.

The four women were distracted at hearing the front door open and someone enter the house. Carlos soon appeared in the entrance of the living room.

"Hey ladies, Mom." He greeted brightly.

"What are you doing here?" Alice asked, her eyes narrowed.

"You didn't think I would miss this did you?" He laughed. "Mom meeting Claire, I actually didn't think you would go through with it."

"I don't see what's so funny about this Carlos," Elizabeth spoke. "But as long as you're here you better go set a place for yourself at the table. I actually need to go check on dinner, you can help me." She gave Claire a wide smile and then proceeded to pull her son from the room.

"I can't believe that little prick." Alice mumbled as she took the empty spot on the couch. "I specifically told him he was not invited."

The redhead found the man much easier to like now that he no longer stared at her and knowing that he thought she and Alice were good together and had encouraged their relationship. "That's what siblings are for, to do the very opposite of what we tell them." Claire said. She grinned at the scowl K-Mart threw her way in response. "Him showing up can't be so bad though, what's the worst he could do?"

It turned out the worst Carlos could do was his absolute best to embarrass his sister as much as possible. But it was no easy task seeing as Alice remained pretty much unfazed by his every attempt. He had just finished the story of how Alice had played Tinkerbell in their seventh grade production of Peter Pan. K-Mart snickered when he described how happy Alice had been on getting the part and spent weeks rehearsing by prancing around, pretending to fly.

Claire was enjoying the whole thing immensely. Her and Alice were sitting side by side with K-Mart opposite while Carlos and Elizabeth occupied the two ends of the table. It was like a tennis match, with her girlfriend's family telling stories that she would probably never had heard from Alice.

"Carlos you were just jealous because you didn't get the part you wanted."

"I was born to play Peter Pan!" The man insisted indignantly, obviously still bitter.

"Maybe," Alice admitted. "But you couldn't play the boy who wouldn't grow up when you already had a full beard by twelve!"

"It was barely some peach fuzz!"

"That's enough you two." Elizabeth interfered, putting a halt to their banter. She turned her attention to the redhead, who had been snickering at their interaction. "So Claire, how did you and Alice meet?"

"Well, officially we met at Alice's last art show but we had already kind of met earlier that day at a diner I use to work at."

Claire was surprised to see Elizabeth frown at her answer, but the reason became apparent when she rounded on Alice. "There was a show and you didn't tell me about it?"

"It's not a big deal Mom, you've been to those shows a dozen times."

"I don't care how many I've been too. Every one of your shows is important! You may not care, but I certainly do. Seeing other people appreciate your art, it makes me so proud Alice. Please don't take that away from me."

Alice looked at her mother with wide eyes. "I'm sorry. I had no idea you felt that way." The blonde reached across the table to pick up the older woman's hand. "The next show isn't for another few months, but when it comes up, I'll make sure you're the first to know."

Elizabeth smiled gratefully at her daughter and a moment later everyone had returned to their meals.

When diner was finished, Elizabeth rose to clear the table. "Let me help Mrs. Olivera." Claire offered, rising from the table.

"Thank you dear. And please, call me Elizabeth."

Alice also rose to help but her mother quickly shooed her away. "Claire and I can handle it. Plus it will give us a chance to talk privately."

Claire gulped at hearing that. But when Alice merely rolled her eyes at the older woman, she figured it couldn't be a bad thing if her girlfriend wasn't worried. She watched as Alice tugged on Carlos' arm and motioned for K-Mart to follow her and soon Claire found herself alone with Elizabeth.

"Relax Claire, I promise I won't bite."

The redhead laughed, a lot of her tension falling away. "Is it really that obvious how nervous I am?"

"I'm afraid so." Elizabeth smiled. "But you shouldn't worry so much. "I only have one criteria for the people my children date. The only thing I care about is if that person makes them happy. And you surpassed all my expectations when it comes to that requirement." Elizabeth took the plates from Claire's hands, setting them on the counter and motioned for the redhead to sit at the kitchen table. As she sat opposite Claire, a thoughtful expression passed her face. "Alice is special in a lot of ways as I'm sure you've noticed. She easily becomes complacent with the world around her. She accepts what she's given and what she's earned but never drives for more. I've always wished that she would want more for herself because she deserves everything great life has to offer."

Claire thought over what she heard carefully. She had an idea of what Elizabeth was talking about; Alice's job, and the fact that Claire had been the one to make the first move in their relationship stuck out in her mind. "Do you think there's a reason why Alice is like that?"

Elizabeth smiled sadly. "The more you have the more there is to lose."

That was all the woman said and the redhead nodded her agreement.

"I know that I've made it sound like a bad thing, but that's not my intention. I just want you to have a better understanding of Alice. She's a lot more complicated than she lets on." Elizabeth sighed. "She's my special snowflake, but she has a really hard time letting people in. Trust doesn't come easily with her and I'm just asking you to be patient and understanding if she doesn't want to open up right away."

The redhead was pretty sure she understood what Elizabeth was saying. "I get it. And don't worry, you haven't made me change my mind about her." Claire blushed bright red. "I care about her a lot."

"I can tell. And I know Alice cares about you quite a bit too, she just has trouble saying it out loud."

Claire thought back with a smile to their last date, the flowers sitting on her kitchen counter and how Alice had stopped her from freaking out when they'd first arrived at the house and she had been nervous to meet the blonde's mother. "That's okay. I'm getting pretty good at reading between the lines."


	13. Metabolism

**Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil.**

**A/N:** Okay so I'm pretty sure I am the most awful person in the world for taking so long between updates. I really don't have an excuse which only makes it even worse. I am very sorry.

**A/N2: **Name of this chapter is from 'The Strokes.'

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><p>Alice's feet dragged across the hospital parking lot as she made her way to her truck in the early hours of the afternoon. She knew it would take some time before she would adjust to a normal sleep schedule again. After a month and a half of dating Claire she had made the decision to give up working the night shift at the hospital. Their work schedules had only allowed them slivers of time in the evenings to spend together and they were both starving for more. It hadn't taken Alice much thought to figure out that the easiest solution would be changing her work schedule. So a couple of weeks ago she requested the move to day shift, surprising everyone at the hospital except Betty. She hadn't told the redhead yet that she was now working during the day and sleeping at night like a normal person. Alice wanted to make sure that this was what she really wanted both for herself and for their relationship.<p>

She found it surprisingly easy to be with Claire. The redhead never pressured or pushed her for more than she was ready to give. Alice could clearly see the disappointment on her girlfriend's face every time she had to leave for work instead of staying the night, though Claire had never voiced her feelings, knowing how much Alice enjoyed her job. And while the blonde appreciated Claire's understanding, she too was growing frustrated with the limited amount of time they were able to spend together.

Still, Alice had struggled with her decision. Not more than two months ago Alice would have said with certainty she was completely content with her life. She was a loner, but never felt any shame in that fact. And now it felt like she was a completely different person. Alice was someone who lived based on her own wants and needs and it startled her to think about how those wants and needs had changed over the last several weeks.

Alice could replay the morning after their second date a thousand times and the memory would still bring a smile to her face. There had only been a few occasions since then where she'd woken up with the redhead in her arms and it almost scared her how much she missed Claire's presence on the nights they spent apart. Unlike her brother, Alice had never before felt the need for companionship, she had never even wanted a pet and she was very tentative about letting her feelings for someone change the way she lived her life. But every moment she spent with Claire, and even K-Mart only proved how much happiness others could bring to her life when given the chance. She felt herself looking forward to the most trivial things; telling Claire about her day, or hearing K-Mart relay the daily high school gossip. Most of all, Alice liked the way Claire's face would light up every time she came over. Alice knew her face probably mirrored the look whenever she saw the redhead but she couldn't help it.

For the first time in years Alice felt like she was ready for a serious relationship. She knew it was what Claire deserved and that she needed to step up if that was ever going to happen. For too long Alice had lived her life with only herself in mind but now she wanted Claire to be included in it as much of it as possible.

Alice yawned as she made the drive home, deciding that a nap was in order before she headed over to the Redfield's apartment later that night. Her and Claire had planned a stay in date night and Alice figured that would be the perfect time to relay the news about her change in work schedule. The blonde grinned despite her fatigue, she was always anxious on days she knew she'd see Claire and even after almost two months of dating those feelings of nervous excitement remained.

* * *

><p>"Princess Peach."<p>

"You're shitting me."

"Nope."

"Alice your favourite video game character cannot be Princess Peach!"

"Why not?"

"Because that's just ridiculous!"

Alice chuckled. "I don't think you're in the position to judge me. You're favourite band is KISS, I'm pretty sure that means you're not allowed to ever say shit about anything anyone else likes, ever." Her girlfriend's indignant huff only caused her grin to spread wider.

The blonde was having fun. They were sitting opposite on the redhead's couch, the movie they'd put on long forgotten as they debated the merits of each other's favourite things.

"Ok, fine." Claire relented. "My turn to pick." Her face scrunched in contemplation. "Favourite tree?"

"Oh that's tough. I think I have to go with Japanese Maple."

"Nice," Claire replied. "I think mine would have to be umbrella trees."

"Didn't you get enough of umbrellas from that diner?" Alice teased. "I would have thought you'd be glad to never see an umbrella again once you got out."

Claire shrugged. "It wasn't so bad. My new job is much better though."

"I'm glad."

"What about you? How are things going at the hospital? Did they replace that guy they fired for stealing morphine?"

"Kind of," Alice hesitated, not sure if she should mention that it had been herself who had given up midnights to take the vacated day shift. But she was spared from deciding when Claire spotted the clock on the wall.

"Shit Alice, it's after 10:30," her girlfriend pouted. "Don't you need to leave?"

Alice grinned. "Not tonight."

Claire responded with a matching grin. "You mean to tell me that you are mine for the entire night?"

"That is correct."

The redhead quickly crawled across the length of the couch to where Alice was sitting. "Then I am really happy K is out tonight." She said before her lips descended on the blonde's. Alice briefly considered pausing things to tell Claire her news but all thought was pushed aside as hands snaked their way up her shirt and the only thing interrupting their kiss was the smile that spread across her face, knowing that giving up the night shift was definitely going to be worth the trade of nights with her girlfriend.

* * *

><p>The ringing of a phone woke Alice and she groggily stumbled out of the bed. Putting a long t-shirt on to offset the loss of the warm bed, she went in search of the device as she recognized the tone of her own cell phone. When it was dislodged from the pocket of her pants that had somehow managed to end up in the far corner of the room, Alice, though still groggy was prompted to answer as K-Mart's name flashed across the screen. Considering the ringing had woken her from sleep she knew it was far too late for the younger blonde to be calling, and Alice instantly became anxious. A quick glance at Claire confirmed that the noise hadn't woken the redhead and Alice quickly moved to the other room before answering.<p>

"K-Mart?"

"Alice?" The teenager replied. "Is this the right number? I think you're first in my contacts, but if this is Amanda I'm sorry..."

"K-Mart it's Alice, are you okay?" Alice spoke slowly and clearly, having heard the teenager's slurred greeting and what she guessed was the thumping of a bass in the background. "K-Mart?" Alice had a suspicion on why the blonde was calling but needed to be sure.

K-Mart made a few attempts to speak but it resulted in a burst of random noises, one of which appeared to be an impression of a dolphin. Next there was some shuffling, the sound of K-Mart whining in protest, and then a voice Alice didn't recognize spoke into the phone.

"Hello? Is this Alice?" There was a slight British accent to the female voice but Alice didn't take the time to analyse it.

"Yes, what's wrong with K-Mart?"

"I'm afraid she is rather drunk. We went to a party and got separated. When I found her she was completely wasted–" the girl's explanation was interrupted by K-Mart making loud elephant noises in the background, followed by giggling. "K, please be quiet for a second" Alice could hear the teenager unsuccessfully try to control her drunk friend. "She was supposed to be sleeping over at my house but she's really out of it. I wanted to call Claire but K refused and started crying, then she started saying your name over and over and called you instead. I don't know what to do."

The girl was clearly distressed so Alice did her best to reassure her. "It's okay kid. This is Angie right?"

"Yes."

"Where are you guys? I'm coming to pick you up." She listened as the sober teenager recited the address. "Okay, I'm on my way. Stay where you are and wait for me."

Alice hung up and headed back into Claire's bedroom and began to search for her clothes. As she pulled her t-shirt over her head and spotted Claire still peacefully asleep she contemplated whether or not to wake her girlfriend. Undoubtedly Claire would want to know that something was wrong with K-Mart but she didn't want her to be upset before the teenager was even home safely. Alice thought the best thing to do was pick up K-Mart as soon as possible so she silently left the apartment and headed out into the night.

* * *

><p>It wasn't hard to find the address Angie gave her and Alice easily spotted the two teenagers on the sidewalk as she pulled up to the house. K-Mart was walking backwards around her friend but abruptly stopped and waved excitedly when she spotted Alice. The older blonde was relieved to find that aside from being completely intoxicated, K-Mart appeared to be fine.<p>

"Alice! I'm soooo glad you could come!" The girl greeted loudly as she pulled open the passenger door and eagerly climbed inside the truck, Angie right behind her. "Have you met Angie? She's my bestest friend in the whole world! Even though she kind of talks funny." K-Mart loudly whispered the last part as if it were a secret, causing her friend to roll her eyes. "Angie this is Alice! She and Claire are getting married one day, I just know it!" She smiled brightly up at Alice, who was at a complete loss for what to say. Instead she offered K-Mart's best friend a polite smile, which came out more like a grimace before driving off, hoping that by the time they returned to the Redfield's apartment K-Mart would be a little more in control of her verbal functions.

She dropped Angie off at home first, the girl apologizing profusely for K-Mart's condition, and it was well after two in the morning before they made it back to the Redfield's apartment.

Alice climbed out of the truck first, walking around to the passenger side and opening the door for the teenager who had yet to even move. K-Mart had been giggling for most of the drive but after dropping off her friend had become silent.

Alice waited patiently for the younger blonde to move. "Come on K-Mart, you're home it's time to get out of the truck." She coaxed but the girl shook her head.

"Please- " the teen hiccupped, "don't make me go in there Alice. Claire is going to kill me!" She sobbed.

"No she won't."

"Yes she will! You don't understand. She's going to hate me!" K-Mart folded in on herself, her body shaking as the tears fell.

Alice watched the girl cry, not sure what to do. She knew Claire wasn't a fan of drinking because of how her parents had died and even though she was still drunk K-Mart seemed so ashamed of herself, but Alice had no idea how her girlfriend was going to react.

"Shh K, it's alright." Alice made an awkward attempt to pat the girl on the back which in reality was more of a thump. "I'm sure Claire will just be happy to have you home safe."

K-Mart looked at her, dry sobs still racking her body before she nodded weakly and slid ungracefully out of the truck. She only made it a couple of steps before she started to wobble and had Alice not been there to catch her would have crashed onto the sidewalk.

Alice was pretty certain the teenager wouldn't be able to make it up three flights of stairs and was forced to carry the girl bridal style into the building. K-Mart was out like a light almost as soon as her feet left the ground. It was difficult to manage, but with experience of dragging Carlos' drunk ass around Alice soon found herself standing outside the apartment she had left not even an hour ago. K-Mart undoubtedly had a key but with her passed out in her arms Alice had no choice but to knock on the door with her foot and wait for Claire to answer. Movement could be heard on the other side of the door before it flung open and a shocked looking Claire took in the sight of Alice carrying her passed out little sister in her arms.

"Is she alright? What happened?" The redhead panicked as she helped Alice get the teenager into the apartment.

"She's fine, just sleeping." Alice reassured as she carried K-Mart into her bedroom and placed her carefully on the bed.

"What happened?" Claire asked again, tugging on Alice's arm as soon as it was free.

"She called me for a ride-" Alice's explanation was cut off as K-Mart promptly rolled over and threw up onto the floor. Then with surprising agility, the young blonde leapt passed both women and a moment later Alice heard the bathroom door slam shut.

"Is she drunk?" Claire demanded, anger and disbelief clear on her face. Alice merely nodded and immediately wished she hadn't as her girlfriend's face hardened in a way Alice would not have guessed was even possible had she not seen it herself. Claire stormed out of the room, "I'm going to kill her!"

Alice quickly caught her wrist.

"What?" The redhead snapped.

"I think you need to calm down."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Claire yanked her hand out of Alice's grasp. "She knows… I've told her a thousand times…" she trailed off. "I can't believe she would do this!"

"She made a mistake. K-Mart didn't do this to hurt you. She was so scared to face you, worried herself into hysterics over how you would react."

"She was right to be scared. She won't know what fun and freedom are by the time I'm done with her." Claire stood with arms crossed, still seething.

Alice was torn between what to do. She didn't want to interfere but she'd also never seen Claire this angry. They could hear K-Mart dry heaving through the door and when Claire made to move towards it again Alice called out.

"Don't be too hard on her Claire, she's a kid, she's allowed to make mistakes. Don't say something you'll regret."

"She's my sister, I know how to deal with her."

"I know you do but-"

"There are no buts! She knows how I feel about this. She knows first hand the kind of pain these kinds of poor decisions can have. You wouldn't understand Alice."

Alice felt a flame of anger spark within her. She had seen first hand the brutal effects of alcohol everyday when she was a child. Coming home from school to find her mother passed out on the couch and hiding in her room most nights as her parents screamed at each other had not made for a happy childhood.

Her moment of anger passed about as quickly as it came though. Claire looked so broken hearted and Alice knew the redhead was thinking of her own parents. Despite her own past and her parents' problems Alice would never compare her experience against Claire's. Alice had not had her parents stolen from her, they had walked out freely on their own. So where her feelings were marred by anger and abandonment Claire's were shrouded in pain and loss.

Taking a deep breath, Alice tried another approach. "What I do understand is that K-Mart is home and she is going to be fine. Why don't you focus on that?"

"Yeah, about that. How could you not tell me what was going on? She called you and asked for a ride right?" Alice nodded. "Did you know when she called that she was drunk?"

"Yes," Alice replied, realizing her mistake in not informing the redhead what was going on. "You were asleep when she called and I didn't want you to worry before she was even home. I probably should have told you what was going on but I'm kind of glad I didn't tell you. When I got here you were worried if she was alright. But if you had known ahead of time that she was going to be coming home drunk, you would have been ten times as mad as you are now, probably with a list of punishments already made up. K-Mart was so scared about how angry you would be and I can see why. She doesn't need a warden, she needs her caring older sister."

"It's not for you to decide what she needs." Claire retorted. It was then that the bathroom door opened to reveal a dishevelled looking K-Mart. "I can handle it from here." Claire said and Alice knew what that tone meant. Dismissal.

She was surprised at how much the words hurt, like getting punched in the gut. But Alice was good at hiding pain, so with her face impassive she turned around and left. She could faintly hear K-Mart call out a thank you but Alice didn't allow herself to look back as she let the door shut behind her.


	14. Favourite Scars

**Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil.**

**A/N: **Chapter title is from Cher!

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><p>Claire awoke tired and more than a little cranky. Despite how angry she had been she'd managed to resist yelling at K-Mart. It had taken a while to get her sister cleaned up and put to bed, not to mention mopping up the mess on her floor. Then the redhead had forced herself to get up every hour and check on the teenager to make sure she was still alright.<p>

Claire wasn't sure what she was going to do with the blonde yet, but the annoyed older sister part of herself hoped K-Mart would have a wicked hangover to teach her a lesson.

Alice's words kept ringing through her head and she was struggling to find a balance between her anger and disappointment with K-Mart and her relief that her sister hadn't done anything really stupid while in her intoxicated state.

Claire's insides twisted with guilt as her thoughts shifted to Alice. Her girlfriend had only been trying to help and Claire had snapped at her and all but kicked her out. She had been justifiably angry with K-Mart but there was no excuse for the way she had treated Alice. It was her and Alice's first fight and she hadn't handled it well at all. Alice had warned her not to say something she'd regret to K-Mart and the redhead had done exactly that to the person she should have been thanking. Alice's past was still a mystery to Claire but she knew the blonde's mother had been an alcoholic. And yet, with a few choice words Claire had undermined all the pain Alice must have felt during that time.

Feeling absolutely disgusted with herself Claire knew what she needed to do. Apologize. Apologize profusely and hope Alice wasn't too mad at her. She liked Alice a lot and would probably never forgive herself if she let words slipped out because of her temper ruin their relationship.

The redhead was nursing a cup of coffee at the kitchen counter when a dishevelled looking K-Mart appeared in the doorway of her bedroom.

"Is it safe to come out? Or are you going to kill me?" The teenager asked meekly.

"I thought about it." Claire replied. She set aside her mug and motioned her sister to join her at the counter. "We need to talk K-Mart."

"I know what you're going to say and you're right Claire. Last night I was stupid and irresponsible and I'm sorry. I'll accept whatever punishment you want to give me." The young blonde looked at her sister with pleading eyes. "Just please don't hate me. I honestly didn't mean for it to get out of control."

"I could never hate you K." She pulled her sister into a bone crushing hug. "When I saw you passed out I was so scared. I just want to know why you did it."

K-Mart, who had started to cry, just shook her head. "Honestly, I don't even know. It just sort of happened. Everyone else was drinking and I felt pressured. I was only going to have one, but then it turned into another one and another one. I didn't even realize I was drunk until Angie found me. She insisted we leave right away as soon as she noticed how wasted I was so please don't be mad at her."

Claire nodded slowly. "And Alice?"

K-Mart shrugged. "It must have been my idea to call her for a ride, but I don't really remember that part of the night very well."

"You didn't think to call me?"

"Claire can you imagine calling yourself and saying you were drunk? I was terrified! I actually can't believe you're being so calm about this right now!"

"Then you must not remember how angry I was last night. But Alice warned me not to say anything I might regret later, and reminded me that what was most important was that you were home safe."

The tears had stopped and a small half smile appeared on the teen's face. "Well then I owe her a big thanks for more than just the ride home. Where is she?" K-Mart looked around the apartment as if the older blonde would suddenly appear. "Did she already leave this morning?"

"She left last night," Claire shifted uncomfortably. "I may have... ah taken my anger out on her and said a couple of things I wish I could take back."

"Claire!" K-Mart shouted in disbelief. "Are you going to apologize?"

"Of course I am! I've been trying to get a hold of her all morning but she's not answering any of my texts or voice mails." The redhead was starting to get nervous, not certain of how angry Alice might be with her.

"You need to go find her this instant!" K-Mart demanded.

"Better watch what you say K, I'm still thinking about punishing you." Claire warned, not liking her little sister telling her what to do, especially when it was obvious. The redhead had been feeling guilty since Alice had left and K-Mart was not helping.

K-Mart backed off a little. "Sorry, I just would feel really responsible if you guys broke up because of me."

"We're not breaking up K," Claire replied with more certainty than she felt. She slid off her chair and headed towards the door, cellphone clutched tightly in her hand. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back later." She gave the teenager the best attempt at a smile she could muster. "Everything with me and Alice will be alright K, I promise." And as she left the apartment, Claire hoped her words would turn out to be true.

* * *

><p>Claire wandered the streets for hours, well into the afternoon. She didn't have a destination in mind, prefering to let her feet choose the path. It was relaxing to simply clear her head and absorb the sights and sounds of the city. She found herself appreciating the beauty of it all, something she attributed to Alice as she briefly recalled their second date. The thought was fleeting though as the simultaneous ringing and buzzing of her phone caught her attention.<p>

Claire was sure she looked like a crazy person as she hastily tried to retrieve the device from her pocket, relieved that Alice was finally calling her back. Her eagerness subsided as swiftly as it came when she noticed it was Betty's name flashing across the screen.

"Hey Betty," Claire answered hoping the nurse's call would bring some insight on how angry her girlfriend was with her.

"Good afternoon Claire," Betty greeted jovially. "How is the kid doing?"

"K-Mart is fine. She's more than a little hungover but that's what you get for drinking too much."

"You reckon she learned her lesson?"

"Absolutely." Claire replied with certainty. K-Mart may be annoying but she was good at not making the same mistake twice.

"That's good." Betty paused. "I hope it's okay that Alice told me what happened. She showed up at the hospital in the middle of my shift and actually wanted to talk. Trust me when I say that's never happened before."

Somehow that only made Claire feel worse. If she upset Alice to the point where she purposely sought out Betty to discuss feelings than it must be serious.

"How mad is she?" Claire asked tentatively, not sure she even wanted to know the answer.

"Mad?" Claire could hear the nurse scoff on the other end of the line. "Claire we're talking about Alice, she doesn't get mad."

"She... she's not angry with me for last night?"

"Hell no," Betty replied. "From what she told me she thinks you're pissed off at her."

Claire threw herself onto the nearest bench, but her leg continued to bounce in agitation. "I was upset and frustrated with K and I took it out on Alice." The redhead's stomach dropped as she recalled the things she'd said.

"I see. Well Alice didn't give me the details but she thinks she fucked up. She's worried she blew it with you."

"No I'm the one who fucked up. She was being thoughtful and amazing and I threw it in her face." Claire sighed. "She has every right to be angry with me. I've been trying to reach her all day but she won't call me back. What should I do Betty?"

"Her phone is off Claire. Alice is still at the hospital, she probably doesn't even know you called."

Claired checked her watch, it was almost three o'clock. "Why is she there? It's the middle of the day, did she pick up an extra shift?"

"No, this is her regular shift.." Betty trailed off. "Did she not tell you about the changes?"

Now Claire really was confused. "No. What are you talking about?"

"You should let Alice tell you. Her shift is done at three, I'm sure she'll call you as soon as she's done."

"Yeah, thanks Betty. You're a good friend."

After ending the call, she noticed the time was 2:58. Claire looked at her surroundings. She wasn't too far from the hospital and she wasn't sure if she could wait to see if Alice would call. So with different apologies running through her head Claire quickly began walking, hoping she really hadn't fucked things up beyond repair.

* * *

><p>Checking the time as she jogged into the hospital parking lot Claire hoped she wasn't too late to catch Alice before she left. It was after three but Alice didn't strike her as the kind of person who bolted from work as soon as their shift was over. Fortunately Alice's truck wasn't too difficult to spot despite the size of the parking lot and the redhead quickly made her way over.<p>

Her timing turned out to be perfect as she saw Alice approaching from the opposite direction. Upon noticing her girlfriend, a confused smile appeared on the blonde's face. "Claire? What are you doing here?"

"Uh, hey." Claire inwardly groaned at her flat greeting. "I was kind of in the area and Betty told me you were here, I've been trying to reach you."

Alice pulled out her phone, realizing it was off. "Oh, sorry. I usually keep it off during work." A small grin appeared on her face as all of the redhead's messages came bursting through at once when she turned it back on. "You weren't kidding. Eight texts and four missed calls."

Claire could feel her normally pale skin burn with embarassment. "I guess one message would have been enough. I just really wanted to talk to you."

The blonde leaned against the side of her truck. "Well I'm here now. You have my full attention."

Claire found herself a little caught off guard, even though this was what she wanted. For some reason she hadn't thought Alice would be so cooperative. She knew that if it had been her in the blonde's place, she would not be so willing to listen. She took a deep breath and hoped Alice would forgive her. "I'm sorry Alice. I shouldn't have snapped at you last night. You were looking out for K and you didn't deserve the way I treated you."

She looked at the blonde expectantly and when Alice didn't respond right away Claire grew increasingly anxious. "I just feel so stupid Alice," she confessed. "You have been nothing but amazing with K-Mart since you met her and last night I was ungrateful and controlling." She paused again but Alice just continued to stare at her. "But I want you to know I really am grateful. The relationship you've built up with K is more than I could have ever hoped for. It means a lot to me that she has someone to talk to who I can trust truly has her best interest at heart."

The blonde's continued silence made Claire feel as though she would rip off her own skin if Alice didn't say something soon. Eventually Claire couldn't take the tension anymore and pleaded. "Please say something Alice."

"You're not mad at me anymore?"

"No! I was never really angry with you Alice." Claire sighed. "I was so mad at K-Mart and I took it out on you, which I know was wrong but I'm just so obnoxiously stubborn sometimes." She bit her lower lip between her teeth nervously. "Can you forgive me?"

This time Alice replied right away. "Of course I forgive you Claire." She pulled the redhead into a hug and Claire immediately felt a weight lift off of her and sank into her girlfriend's embrace in relief. "I'm sorry too."

At that Claire stepped back enough to look at the other woman in confusion. "What do you have to be sorry for? I'm the one who went crazy last night."

"I wouldn't go as far as crazy, but you were right about something. I shouldn't have tried to tell you how to parent K-Mart. She's your sister and I had no right interferring."

"You weren't," Claire was quick to interject. "You actually stopped me from making a big mistake. Last night I was so disappointed and frustrated and angry with her. If I had dealt with her in that mind frame the only thing it would have done is push us away from each other. But I talked to her this morning when I was calm and listened to her. K-Mart knows she made a mistake and I have to trust that she learned something from it. You were right Alice. I can't expect her not to fuck up now and then, she's just a kid." Claire frowned in thought, "and God knows I've made enough mistakes of my own that I shouldn't be so quick to judge."

Alice squeezed the redhead gently. "No one is perfect Claire. Besides," she grinned "I don't think I would like you as much if you didn't go a little crazy now and then."

Smiling for the first time that day, Claire leaned in kissing Alice firmly on the lips. "Thank you. You're kind of amazing Alice Abernathy." She then kissed the blonde's cheek as Alice flushed at the compliment. Claire meant every word, knowing it took a strong person to forgive.

"Well someone who can apologize and mean it is a pretty amazing person too," Alice said as if she had been able to read Claire's thoughts.

Recognizing how corny the pair of them must have looked at the moment, Claire couldn't help but to smile goofily at the blonde. Feeling a soft hand cup her chin Claire's happiness only escalated as Alice pulled her in for another kiss. It wasn't long before the pair was making out against the side of Alice's truck.

However Claire was quick to pull away as a sudden thought struck her. "You'll tell me if it gets to be too much right? I know K-Mart comes to you a lot for help, and while I really appreciate you taking on that role I don't want you to feel obligated..."

"Hey," Alice interrupted her girlfriend's ramblings. "Claire it's okay, I don't mind. Really," she assured. "K-Mart is allowed to call me whenever she needs to for anything, no questions asked. So as long as you don't feel like I'm overstepping then I'm glad to help her with anything I can."

"Okay, as long as you're sure." Alice nodded. "Because I know how imposing K can be and we've only been dating a couple of months so it's not like I'm expecting anything from you..."

"Claire," Alice interrupted again. "Trust me, we are on the same page."

Smiling sheepishly, the redhead nodded. "Can I just say one more time that I'm sorry. I just really want to make that clear."

"I know you are. If you weren't you wouldn't be here, and you wouldn't have left me eight messages." She smiled. "You and me, we are okay. I just really want to make that clear. Alright?"

"Yeah," Claire sighed, finally feeling like things between them were back to normal.

"Good," Alice breathed, leaning in again. "Now shut up and kiss me, we weren't finished making up yet."

And Claire did just that, eager to wipe the cocky smirk off her girlfriend's face. But when a thought struck her she quickly pulled away again, causing Alice to groan in frustration.

"Alice, what are you doing here? Betty said you stopped by to talk to her in the middle of the night, and then when I just spoke to her she told me you were still here. I thought you weren't working those extra shifts anymore?"

"I'm not, I mean they aren't extra shifts. I uh, requested to have my scheduling changed to the day shift. So you know, no more midnights for me..." Alice stared at the ground as she spoke and was absently tracing the fingers of Claire's right hand as the words fell out of her mouth. Claire was sure the blonde didn't even realize she was doing it, which caused her to smile again.

"Why? I thought you liked working nights?"

"I do, I mean...I did like it. I just felt like it was time to make a change. I was going to tell you last night but got kind of distracted."

"How long have you been working days?"

"Not long, a couple of weeks." She shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. "It just made the most sense. I really like spending time with you Claire," she looked at the redhead with a smirk, "when you're not being crazy that is..." Alice squeezed her hand when Claire's cheeks began to match the colour of her hair. "...and this way I was hoping we would be able to spend even more of it together."

Claire stared at her girlfriend long and hard. "You're not doing this because of me right? I mean, if I made it seem like I wanted you to switch.."

"You didn't. I could tell that you didn't like it on the nights I had to cut our dates short to go to work but I knew you would never say anything. But trust me, on those nights work was the last place I wanted to go. I didn't do it because of you, I did it for the both of us. So as long as you're okay with us spending a little more time together I think having a normal sleep and work schedule will be worth it."

"Oh believe me, I am definitely okay with it." Claire murmured as she hugged Alice tightly and burried her face in her girlfriend's neck. She didn't bring it up but she could tell this was a huge deal for the blonde. Alice, the woman she could barely talk into agreeing to go on a date, was now willing to make a major change in her daily life, to better their relationship. "In fact," she pulled back to make eye contact, "lets start right now. I don't know about you but I haven't eaten all day and I am starving. I'd really like to buy my girlfriend uh," she paused considering the time. "A super late lunch? Or an extremely early dinner? Whatever you want to call it."

Alice grinned as she opened the passenger side door for Claire. "Let's call it a date."


	15. Smile

**Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.**

**A/N: **Well I don't want to mention any names but someone fell off the face of the earth. And now they feel like a real asshole. It has been a looooong time since I have updated this story so I'm sorry if it's a little rusty. I really want to finish this story for you guys but at this point I know even my best intentions cannot be fully trusted. But I will try! Leave me a review or comment if you can. I'm hoping some fresh feedback will help light the fire under my ass to get this thing going again.

**A/N2: **This chapter's title is from Uncle Kracker.

* * *

><p>"Hey Redfield!"<p>

Claire looked up from the engine she was working on at hearing JD's booming voice, scowling at the interruption. "Yes?"

The man was smart enough to stop a safe distance away from the redhead. "You know how to play softball right?"

Her scowl tightened. "Are you asking me because I'm a lesbian?"

"Obviously." He replied with a cheeky smile, trying to get a rise out of his friend.

The mechanic took a deep breath, trying not to let her annoyance get the best of her. It took a few tries but eventually she relaxed enough to respond. "You know, it's really rude to make stereotypical assumptions about people right?"

"Okay I'm sorry! I didn't mean to actually offend you. But I do need to know if you can play softball."

Claire wasn't really mad at JD, she knew he was just messing with her. "I do know how to play softball." She admitted. "I was actually team captain in highschool."

The dark haired man's eyes gleamed with excitment. "What position?"

"Pitcher."

"Perfect!"

"JD you have five seconds to tell me what this is about..." Claire warned as she turned her attention back to the engine she had been working on.

"Okay! So you know I have four sisters," he began. "Well a couple of years ago they started to complain that we hadn't been spending enough time together so they forced me to join this co-ed softball league that runs May to September. Don't tell them I said this, but it is actually pretty fun. Anyway, last night our team's pitcher broke his wrist so not only are we short a player but no one else on the team is nearly as good..."

"JD," Claire interrupted, not sure if she liked where this was going.

"Will you join our team Claire? Please! I really want to win the championship this year and as it stands right now we don't have a hope in hell."

Claire sighed as she took in the hopeful look on her friend's face. "I don't know JD."

"Please Redfield! It will only take up a few afternoons a week and I promise guaranteed fun!" He pleaded. "Your sister can come to the games, it will be great. Please!"

"Okay, okay. Just stop begging. If you really need a player, I will help you out."

"Awesome, thanks Redfield. I owe you one." JD clapped her on the back.

"Yeah you do. And I don't want to hear any whining when I come to collect."

He simply grinned in response before heading back to his own work station.

* * *

><p>"OW! Alice stop it!" Carlos begged. The man was pinned face down on the living room floor.<p>

Alice could barely contain her laughter as she kept her friend's hands in a vice grip above his head as her knee dug into his back. "Never!" The evil grin on her face widened as she admired her work. "Hey, do you want to see something funny?"

"NO!"

Ignoring his answer, Alice proceeded to poke her prisoner in the side.

"OW! That fucking hurt! Let me go Alice, you win."

Finally taking pity on the man, Alice released him. She stood up, watching as he rolled over onto his back and glared up at her. The blonde shrugged, not even remembering what had sparked their good-natured wrestling match but enjoying her victory nonetheless. She reached down, helping him return to his feet. "That was fun."

Carlos rubbed the spot she had poked. "Maybe for you," he whined.

Alice shrugged as she began moving towards the kitchen. "It's not my fault after all this time you still haven't learned not to mess with me."

"Still, you didn't have to give me such a painful reminder." He pointed out as he followed.

Alice really enjoyed their banter. She hadn't been spending nearly the same amount of time with Carlos that they had enjoyed before she met Claire but was happy their friendship didn't seem to be suffering for it. Carlos had been the one constant throughout the blonde's entire life and she could not even fathom what her life might have been like without him.

"So," he prompted as he threw himself into a chair and began picking through a bowl of trail mix on the table. "Things with Claire are still going well?"

Alice nodded.

"Your three month anniversary is coming up right?" He questioned as if he didn't know, even though he himself had written it on the fridge calander the night Alice had come home from her first date with the redhead. She had not commented on it at the time, chalking it up to his usual unrealistic, overly romantic expectations. But now it was actually going to be a reality.

"Yes, next Thursday. But is three months really a thing? Because I'm trying not to think about it."

Carlos nearly choked on his pretzel. "What? Alice you can't just ignore it!"

"I'm not ignoring it, I just don't want to feel obligated to put any unnecessary pressure on myself."

"Uh A) not thinking about something is ignoring it. And B) you should feel pressured. Three months isn't exactly a lifetime committment but it sure as hell isn't casually dating anymore." He paused in thought and Alice hoped he would stay silent. But Carlos was never willing to keep his mouth shut when it came to matters of the heart. "Do you love her?"

Alice was caught off guard even though it was exactly the type of question her friend would ask. Carlos believed in love at first sight and soul mates, while she liked to live in the real world. "Love? Carlos I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed by the very idea of any sort of anniversary and you're going to sit there and throw out the word love?" Alice dropped her head down onto the table. She had actively been avoiding putting together thoughts that contained both Claire and love. The blonde knew without a doubt that she liked Claire, a lot. But she sure as hell wasn't ready to label it as love.

Love was perhaps the only thing Alice was truly scared of. Knowing that leaving yourself open to loving someone also meant leaving yourself open for them to hurt you. Something she had learned the hard way, and even though a lot of time had passed, she wasn't sure if she was ready to put herself in that position again. Or even if she would ever be ready.

"Alice I'm not saying you have to decide this second how you feel about her. But I want to make sure you're at least thinking about it. I mean, what are you going to do if Claire tells you she loves you?"

"Probably run away."

"No," Carlos stated firmly. "The old Alice would run away."

"I didn't know there was a new Alice in town." She rebuked, knowing her weak attempt at humour would not deter him.

"The Alice who had sworn off dating and the very idea of having a girlfriend." He clarified, clearly not amused. But after a moment his eyes softened and that brotherly smile appeared on his face. "Everyone has seen a change in you since you and Claire started dating. You've been happier than I've seen you in a long time Alice. This thing you have with her, it's a good thing. You can't deny it."

He had her there. She couldn't deny it, and she did't want to either. Alice had been happier since meeting Claire. Her daily routine had more joy and structure than she'd experienced in her entire adult life.

But there was always that negative cloud brewing in the back of her mind reminding her not to get her hopes up. Once upon a time she thought she had been happy and in love, and it had ended with her heart being smashed into a million pieces.

She nodded to Carlos, indicating that she would take his words into consideration and then retreated downstairs to her room, wanting to be alone with her thoughts.

Alice didn't know if she could allow herself to fall in love with Claire if it meant putting her heart at risk again. But Carlos was right, not that long ago she had scoffed at the idea of dating again and now she had an amazing girlfriend. It _was_ as if a new Alice had emerged, one who was open to experiencing life again.

She picked up a photograph of the redhead from her bookshelf. K-Mart had given it to her two days ago, telling Alice she had taken it the day they had moved to Raccoon City. In the picture Claire was sitting on the floor surrounded by boxes. And even though Alice could tell the woman was exhausted, the amused smile she was giving the camera was the embodiment of everything she liked about Claire.

Alice had other pictures of her girlfriend but this one had immediately become her favourite. Taken during a time when everything in Claire's life had been turned upside down, the photograph showed a woman who had left everything behind to give her and K-Mart a fresh start. Would she had ever met Claire if her parents had not been killed in that car accident? Probably not. And as scared as she was at the thought of falling in love with Claire, the idea that she could easily have gone her whole life without ever knowing her was jarring.

With the hindsight she had now, Alice could see she had merely been coasting through life before. She had been avoiding life more than living it. Meeting Claire had sparked so many positive changes in her that she couldn't imagine ever going back. Life had become fun again. Whether it was taking K-Mart out for ice cream, or double dates with Betty and L.J, or just watching tv with Claire at the Redfield's apartment; Alice had not felt so alive in a very long time. And she knew her girlfriend was to thank for it. Alice put the picture of Claire back on the shelf for safe keeping. She looked at it for a few moments longer; wondering not for the first time, if she even had a choice on whether or not she fell in love with Claire.

The blonde was pulled from her thoughts when her phone began ringing. A quick look at the screen showed K-Mart's name.

"Hey K, what's up?" she greeted.

"Hi Alice! I know you and Claire don't have plans tonight but I was wondering if you could still come over? My history exam is in three days! I could really use your help studying."

Alice chuckled. "Of course, I am still your official tutor after all. I don't think I'd be doing my job if I didn't help you study."

"Thank you! Come by whenever you can, there's no rush."

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit. Bye K."

"Bye Alice!"

* * *

><p>Alice was somewhat amazed at how much progression K-Mart had made in the last three months. She honestly hadn't thought she would be a good tutor but it appeared she had been selling herself short. The teenager had been completely clueless those first few study sessions and now Alice was certain the girl knew almost as much as she did on the subject.<p>

"You are sure to ace this exam K-Mart." She told the younger blonde who beamed at the vote of confidence.

"Thanks Alice! "It's been a lot of hard work and I really couldn't have done it without you. Claire is going to be so proud."

It was at that moment that the redhead came through the doorway. "Hey," she greeted with a warm smile. "What are you guys working on?"

"Studying for my history exam. Alice is certain that I'm going to pass with flying colours," K-Mart looked to Alice who nodded in confirmation.

"That's great K!" Claire beamed at her little sister.

K-Mart returned the grin before asking, "How was softball?"

"Good." Claire had just come from her first practise with the team. "I haven't played in a long time, I forgot how much fun it is."

"Claire was such a jock in highschool," K-Mart explained to Alice. "But I don't remember her talking about how much fun it was in those days." The teen chuckled. "Claire is probably the most competitive person alive, it won't be long before she takes over that team."

"Hey now, that isn't fair." Claire pouted. "I'm not like that anymore, besides JD is the one obsessed with winning. That's why he begged me to be on the team."

K-Mart just rolled her eyes, clearly not believing that her sister's competitive side would remain dormant. She turned to Alice. "What about you Alice? What were you like in highschool? Play any sports? Claire told me about your funk band with Carlos, what else were you into?"

"Um, let me think..." Alice strained her memories, highschool felt like a lifetime ago. "Yeah we had that band in senior year... Carlos and I were still doing martial arts in highschool but I never got into it competitively... I did a lot of painting but never let anyone see it" she admitted. "I definitely wasn't the smartest but I made the honour roll a couple of times, but absolutely no sports for me."

"Why not?" Claire asked, she too was interested in hearing what the blonde had been like growing up.

"Well, for one I am not very good at any of them. I hate running and I suck at any type of throwing. The only sport I actually enjoy is basketball and even then I only like it from the sidelines or the comfort of my living room."

"You were like the total opposite of what Claire was like." K-Mart laughed with amusement. "What about dating? Claire won't let me date until I'm sixteen..."

"K," the redhead warned but the teenager ploughed on as if she hadn't spoken.

"...How old were you when you started dating? Did you always know you were into girls? Claire's been out since she was like four or something."

Alice was use to K-Mart asking a lot of questions, but they normally weren't about her so she was a little self conscious at being put on the spot. "I dated a little bit in freshman year. I didn't know I was gay then so I only went out with boys. My first and last boyfriend Spencer was a real douche bag so it didn't last very long. My first girlfriend I met in tenth grade, her name was Ada and she was star of the swim team. We broke up before the end of the school year, she was way too intense with her training, it was all she ever talked about. After that I told myself 'no more athletes.'" Alice winked at Claire. "But I guess that streak is over now."

Claire grinned at the blonde. "Well can this athlete talk her girlfriend into coming to her first game this Saturday?"

Alice made a face. "Um," she pretended to think and laughed when Claire narrowed her eyes at her. "Of course I will come. I have a feeling K-Mart can be quite the cheerleader and someone needs to keep her from embarrassing herself."

"Hey!" K-Mart protested with a scowl. But before she could argue further the most obnoxious ringtone Alice had ever heard rang out pulling the teenager's attention away. "It's Angie, I'll be in my room if you need me. Thanks for helping me study Alice!" K-Mart said quickly before answering her phone and leaving the room.

"I don't know how you managed to teach her anything," Claire said once her sister had gone. "Sometimes I think she has the memory of a goldfish."

"Learning is like putting a puzzle together, you can't see the big picture if you're missing a piece." Alice explained. "The way K-Mart was studying before, she could remember dates, places, and people but couldn't put them all together."

"So what piece of the puzzle had she been missing?" Claire asked. All she knew was that her sister's grades had vastly improved since Alice had become her tutor, Claire had never bothered to find out what Alice had done differently to facilitate the improvement.

"She was missing the why. History is stories about the past, and that is how they should be presented. Once K-Mart knew the significance of a person or event within the larger historical narrative it was easy for her to remember."

Claire dropped down on to the couch and patted the spot next to her until Alice joined her. "You're so smart Alice," the redhead narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Are you sure you weren't a nerd in high school?"

Alice chuckled. "Positive." Claire smiled and leaned into her girlfriend, resting her head on the blonde's shoulder. Alice adjusted their position to wrap her arm around Claire, pulling her closer.

"Would you really have not dated me in highschool for being a jock?"

"Mmm, yeah I probably wouldn't have dated you." Alice could tell the redhead was scowling without even seeing her face. "But I've never really been one for dating, even back then. I never thought there would be someone I liked enough to put in the time and effort required of a relationship. But that is the great thing about being an adult, you get to look back and laugh at all the stupid things you use to believe were true."

"Glad to know you won't be breaking up with me now that I'm back into athletics." Claire said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Well you still wanted to date me after finding out I am a history geek, so it's only fair." Alice quipped.

"It was a no brainer." She replied climbing into her girlfriend's lap with a wicked grin. "So..." she drawled playing with the edge of Alice's t-shirt. "Do you have any plans for tonight?"

"Hmm, it is Tuesday so you know I was thinking about hitting up a couple of clubs..." Alice trailed off as Claire's fingers slid up her sides, making it difficult for the blonde to concentrate.

"Uh huh, sure you were." Claire smirked.

Alice sat forward, wanting to be closer than they already were. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

Claire pushed her back into the couch, leaning in until their faces were barely an inch apart. "I may have a few ideas." She whispered, lips teasing the blonde's as she spoke.

As she stared into her girlfriend's eyes, Alice's mind briefly flashed back to her earlier conversation with Carlos. The way Claire made her feel was definitely scary, but also exhilarating. It was addicting in the best possible way. She mused maybe that was why people celebrated things as seemingly insignificant as three month anniversaries. There were too many thoughts floating around her brain today and she cursed Carlos for putting them there.

She held Claire's gaze until she couldn't stand it any longer and closed the distance between them. In her mind Claire was the best kisser she'd ever encountered, but that thought also made her wonder if her feelings for the redhead were simply clouding her judgement. Maybe kissing Claire only felt amazing because she already thought Claire was amazing? Fortunately all thoughts faded away as her girlfriend deepened the kiss, leaving Alice in a state of pure bliss.

"I like your ideas," Alice blurted when they separated, dazed from the kiss.

Claire beamed. "Good, because I have another one."

"What's that?"

"You start making dinner while I have a shower." She quickly pecked Alice on the lips and got up from the couch.

"Okay," the blonde automatically agreed. She looked up at Claire who seemed to be enjoying the effect she'd had on her girlfriend, prompting Alice to snap out of it. "But since I'm changing my plans will you make out with me again later?"

Blue eyes narrowed in mock suspicion. "Are you bargaining with me Alice?"

"Um...yes?"

Claire made a show of pretending to think it over for a moment before responding. "Alright, deal. You make dinner and I'll make out with you." Alice internally fist pumped. "Do you want to do it before or after we fuck?"

"Ugh," Alice spluttered, staring wide eyed at the redhead who waited patiently for a response. As if this was a perfectly logical thing to negotiate. "Um...both?"

Claire laughed. "I like your ideas" she replied, reiterating the blonde's earlier words. She pulled Alice up from the couch, kissing her again before ushering her towards the kitchen.

Alice watched her girlfriend disappear behind the bathroom door before turning her attention to the fridge. Making dinner in her girlfriend's kitchen, it felt so...domestic. Carlos was right. She and Claire definitely weren't casually dating anymore, but for the first time the thought didn't scare the shit out of her. And while it may have been slow, it was still progress and in her mind that was all that counted.

* * *

><p>"I'm soooo bored." K-Mart whined.<p>

Alice couldn't really blame the teen. The pair had been sitting on the uncomfortable bleachers in the park for almost two hours. Claire's team had taken a five nothing lead by the third inning and now the two blondes were just waiting for it to be over.

"It's almost over K, this is the last inning." Alice assured but when K-Mart only huffed in reply she opted to go with a different approach. "How about this, when it's done we'll stop for ice cream?"

The teenager immediately perked up. "Deal." They watched Claire strike out another batter, knowing it wouldn't be much longer. "Um, Alice?"

Alice didn't take her eyes off the game. "Yes?" She responded absently as her girlfriend got the ball back from the catcher.

"How many of these games will we have to sit through?"

She slowly turned her head and knew the pained grimace on K-Mart's face mirrored her own as she answered; "I have no idea." And as the young blonde face palmed Alice had a feeling there would be a lot of ice cream bribing in her future.

It wasn't long after that the game ended with the redhead's team easily emerging victorious. Alice and K-Mart eagerly descended the bleachers to meet Claire. She approached them with a wide grin and a dark haired man who Alice assumed must be JD.

"Great game Claire!" K-Mart congratulated with more enthusiasm than Alice had seen from her in the last hour.

"Thanks K, I'm still a little rusty but we have a great team."

"Hell yeah we do! The championship is ours this year!" The dark haired man shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

Claire rolled her eyes at him. "Ignore him when he speaks." She said. "This is JD. JD this is my little sister K-Mart , and my girlfriend Alice."

JD smiled broadly at them. "Nice to put faces to the names I hear all the time." He looked between Claire and K-Mart several times before commenting; "You two look nothing alike."

"Thank you," the sisters replied simultaneously.

Alice couldn't help but chuckle at the display. It always amused her how two people who were so different could somehow still be the same.

JD stepped forward to shake Alice's hand. "It's nice to meet you Alice. Claire wasn't kidding when she said you were hot. Ow!" He rubbed the spot on his chest where the redhead had just elbowed him.

"Like I said, ignore him when he speaks. Honestly JD, what would your girlfriend say if she found out you like to ogle people you just met?"

"You could ask her yourself if you want. She's coming to visit next weekend." His excitement was evident. "How about the four of us double date? Saturday night?"

Claire looked to her girlfriend for her opinion and Alice just nodded. They had gone on a few double dates with Betty and LJ which had been fun and JD seemed nice enough. So it didn't matter to her, leaving the decision up to the redhead.

Claire only had to take in the hopeful look in her friend's eyes before she agreed. "Okay fine, we'll go."

He slapped Claire on the back. "Yes! Alright, meet us at the bowling alley on Fifth at eight o'clock. See you Monday Redfield!" And with that he was off, jogging to catch up with his sisters.

"Fuck, I hate bowling." Claire muttered. "If he had mentioned that earlier I would have said no."

"Whatever Claire," K-Mart moved behind the two women and gently pushed them towards the park's exit. "Alice promised me ice cream and I think I've waited long enough."

"You promised her ice cream?" Claire asked with raised eyebrows.

Alice slung her arm over her girlfriend's shoulders. "Yep. And I think you've earned some too. I don't know anything about softball but I know a win deserves a celebration!"


End file.
